We have a full schedule of 15 Major League Baseball betting matchups that you can bet on at top-rated sportsbooks.
Based on the MLB odds, our betting action begins down at South Beach, where our proprietary model favors one side in the Yankees vs. Rays matchup.
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If you want some MLB player props, check out our YouTube channel, where Donnie RightSide has a couple of suggestions for tonight.
MLB Pick: Rays ML (+121) at Heritage Sports (visit our Heritage Sports Review)
New York Yankees vs. Tampa Bay Rays
Friday, May 10, 2024 – 06:50 PM ET at Tropicana Field
We see nice underdog value at home in Taj Bradley when he makes his season debut for the Rays hosting Clarke Schmidt and the Yankees.
Unlucky 2023
On Wednesday, they activated Bradley after he started the season on the injured list with a pectoral issue. He is making his 2024 debut tonight after two sharp rehab starts in the minors. Back then, he allowed one earned run over 11 innings with 15 strikeouts and a 17.0% swinging-strike rate.
Taj did not have pretty surface numbers as a rookie last year, as he was 5-8 with a 5.59 ERA. However, that ERA was very deceiving, as he had a good xFIP of 3.83. It was keyed by a nice strikeout rate of 11.09/9. He flashed his big potential averaging 96.2 MPH on his fastball while also having three plus-rated secondary pitches in his splitter, cutter and curveball.
If Bradley maintains the plate discipline that he showed in his rehab starts, he can make big strides in this sophomore season.
Hot Offense in May
We have nothing against Schmidt. He has a 3.50 ERA and 3.67 xFIP with a very good strikeout rate of 10.25/9. Our main issue here is his price. We do not feel he should be this big a favorite on the road against a pitcher in Bradley that we project to have a just as good if not better xFIP this season.
And that is not to mention Clarke facing a very hot Tampa Bay offense here. The Rays got off to a slow start, but the offense has heated up quite nicely in May. Tampa Bay ranks fifth in the majors this calendar month in wRC+ at 123. They are just behind the Bronx Bombers in fourth at 127. However, that figure explodes to a whopping 143 for the Rays at home this month.
The Pick
Given that Tampa Bay’s offense is at home and Bradley seems primed for success in his second season, we are betting on the Rays as home underdogs on Friday.
Predicted Score: Rays 5 – Yankees 4
MLB Pick: Rays ML (+121) at Heritage Sports
*The line and/or odds on picks in this article might have moved since the content was commissioned. For updated line movements, visit BMR’s free betting odds product.
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