MLB Betting: Yankees vs Astros & Rays vs Pirates – 06/26/22

In today’s betting guide, the New York Yankees look to bounce back from being held to no hits by the Houston Astros, while the Tampa Bay Rays look to continue climbing against the struggling Pittsburgh Pirates.

New York Yankees (-160) vs Houston Astros (+135)

The Yankees were held to zero hits by the Astros yesterday, and that won’t go over well with the very good bats of the Yankees. Their lineup has played very well and has driven in five runs per game. On top of that, the team as a whole has allowed the least number of runs and hits allowed per game in the entire MLB. While they have surprisingly lost two in a row, expect that to change in short order as they aren’t being shut down two games in a row and the pitching matchup favours them in this game.


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The Yankees get Nestor Cortes on the mound today and he has been very good for the team. His ERA (earned run average) is 2.31 and he has only issued 17 walks in 74 innings, a much better rate than many pitchers. His WHIP (walks+hits per inning pitched) is also below 1.00, which contributed to the overall pitching dominance of the Yankees. The Astros look for three wins in a row and they come into this matchup having won eight of their past 10 games. The starter, Jose Urquidy, hasn’t pitched the best as of late and in general. He has given up at least one home run in seven consecutive games while allowing three or more runs in four of the past five starts. He is the best option the Yankees can match up against to turn things around. As the Yankees are 50-22 and 30-9 at home, don’t expect another loss. Take the Yankees and over (O9, -110).

Tampa Bay Rays (-225) vs Pittsburgh Pirates (+185)

The Rays play the Pirates in what should be a very one-sided affair. The Rays have 10 more wins on the season and 12 more wins at home than the Pirates do on the road where the Pirates have an abysmal record of 12-22. The Rays come into this game having won two in a row while the Pirates have lost two. The Rays are looking to go for the sweep as the Rays are better in every aspect of the game.

What really puts a bow on the decision to hammer the Rays is that ace Shane McClanahan is on the mound. He hasn’t allowed more than two earned runs in a start since April 30 (10 starts), will strike out at least seven batters per game, and hardly issues any walks. His numbers are stellar at 1.81 ERA and 0.85 WHIP, but the Pirates don’t have their worst pitcher starting today. Roansy Contreras has recently made the switch from the bullpen to the starting rotation, so he is still building up the pitch count which goes in favour of the Rays. The sooner he’s out of the game, the sooner they can get some easier runs against the bullpen. Contreras has given up seven runs in his past 14 innings, and after the four-hit game from Randy Arozarena, the Rays look to build off the offense that’s started to come. Take the Rays on the runline (-1.5, +105) and the over (O6.5, -105) since it’s set very low.

Odds via Yahoo and BetMGM.

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