AL East rivals the Tampa Bay Rays and the New York Yankees conclude their latest three-game set in The Bronx this Thursday. The Rays look to salvage a win during this daunting visit against the Yankees, who’ve shown no signs of slowing down as the best team in the majors. Will the Yanks be able to complete the sweep of the Rays to the sheer delight of the home crowd?

Nitrobetting is ready to lend a hand to its bettors with their winning bets to be shot out of the park. This time, let’s break down the upcoming matchup between the Tampa Bay Rays and the New York Yankees, along with the latest MLB odds and information about the teams and players involved.

Rays vs. Yankees Game Information

Hooked on this feeling ????#RepBX pic.twitter.com/U8UVR0p6yY

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) June 16, 2022

• When: Thursday, June 16, 2022, 7:05 PM ET
• Where: Yankee Stadium, New York City, NY
• TV: Bally Sports Sun, YES, MLBN (out-of-market only)
• Radio: AM830 KLAA (Rays) / WDAE 95.3 FM (Yankees)
• Live Stream: MLB.tv
• MLB Odds: Rays (+220) / Yankees (-263)

READ MORE: Angels vs. Mariners MLB Odds, Preview and Prediction – June 16th, 2022

Why bet on the Tampa Bay Rays?

Wednesday’s 4-3 defeat to the New York Yankees is a much better showing for the Tampa Bay Rays considering their 2-0 shutout loss in Tuesday’s series opener. The Rays are now 11 games behind the Yankees for the top spot of the AL East standings but still have a rather healthy cushion of being eight games over .500 to prevent any cause for panic.

Slugger Manuel Margot remains hot at the plate, going 2-for-3 on Wednesday with a run scored and batted-in to extend his hit streak to five games. Ji-Man Choi also filled in as a pinch-hitter and extended his own hitting streak to 13 games, which might force general manager Kevin Cash to start the South Korean standout in the series finale ahead for more oomph in the batting order.

It’s more than likely that Drew Rasmussen (5-3, 3.41 ERA) will start for the Rays this Thursday. Rasmussen did not look good in his previous start, allowing seven runs (four earned) against the Twins last Friday. Prior to that downer of an outing, though, the 26-year-old righty allowed just three hits in seven scoreless innings against the White Sox.

Why bet on the New York Yankees?

Make that six wins in a row now for the New York Yankees, who further improved upon their league-leading 46-16 record towards the midway point of the 2022 MLB season. New York also has the best home record in the majors to date at 28-7, making the Rays’ task of upsetting the home team in the series finale that much more challenging.

AL MVP candidate Aaron Judge went yard for the first time in three games in the very first inning, knocking out a solo shot for his MLB-best 25th home run of the season. Catcher Kyle Higashioka also hit a three-run blast to give the Yanks a four-game lead in the fifth that they would thankfully hang onto and prevent a Rays rally.

Standout starter Luis Severino (4-1, 2.80 ERA) will take the mound for New York Thursday. Severino was rattled for seven hits in his last start against the Cubs, but only allowed one earned run in the process. The Dominican righty, who’s thrown a total of 28 strikeouts over his last three starts, suffered his lone losing decision to Tampa Bay on May 29, allowing four earned runs on just two hits over 6.1 innings of action.

Rays vs. Yankees MLB Betting Trends

• The Rays are 3-7 in the last 10 road games.
• The Rays are 2-5 in the last seven outings against opponents from their own division.
• The totals went under in four of Tampa Bay’s last five games against AL East teams.
• The Yankees have a 13-game home winning streak going.
• The Yanks are 4-2 against the Rays this season.
• The totals went under in four of New York’s six meetings against Tampa Bay this year.

Rays vs. Yankees Betting Prediction

It’s really tough to make a case against the Yankees given how dominant the boys in pinstripes have been all season long. Then again, the Rays have been the thorn on the New York’s side that never backs down from their rivals, and Tampa Bay’s recent success over the Yanks this season is enough reason for those who expect this to be another easy win for the home team.

Feel free to browse sports betting guides. While you are at it, go ahead and check out all the latest MLB betting odds and more in our online Bitcoin sportsbook.

*All odds stated are subject to change without prior notice.