Wednesday afternoon baseball and we will see the New York Yankees take on the Tampa Bay Rays in game 3 of their 3 game series. The game is scheduled for a 3:10 (ET) pm start time and it will be televised live on YES (New York), SUN (Tampa Bay). Currently the odds have Tampa Bay favored at -146, while the Yankees are dogs of +137. The total for the game sits at 8 runs.
Free Analysis: New York (48-32) fell 7-4 on Tuesday, dropping to 4-7 against Tampa Bay (43-38) this year with a 0-5 mark at Tropicana and 0-9 their last 9 here. The Yankees haven't lost 10 straight in an opposing ballpark since a 15-game slide between July 20, 1989 and September 3, 1991 at the old Arlington Stadium in Texas. The Yankees went 20-7 in June to open up a gap in the American League East but have had their defense let them down in the first two games against the Rays. On Monday, it was Mark Teixeira’s first error of the season allowing the winning run to score in a 4-3 setback. Catcher Russell Martin had the rough night on Tuesday with a pair of miscues that kept rallies alive in a 7-4 setback. Tonight the Yanks will look to get back on track vs David Price. Price (11-4, 2.92 ERA) can add to the Yankee woes as he tries to match the Mets' R.A. Dickey for the major league lead in victories. He has posted a 1.19 ERA in winning all five home starts against AL opponents, beating the Yankees on April 7 by yielding two runs over 6 1-3 innings in an 8-6 victory. The left-hander is 2-1 with a 3.93 ERA in three starts overall against New York this year, and 3-1 with a 3.57 ERA in seven career at home against the Yankees with the Rays winning six of those outings. The only four hitters in the league with at least 40 at-bats against Price are all Yankees, with Derek Jeter hitting .289 within that group while Mark Teixeira (.214), Robinson Cano (.244) and Curtis Granderson (.195 with 15 strikeouts in 41 at-bats) have fared poorly. Nick Swisher has posed problems for Price, going 12 for 30 with eight walks - the most off the southpaw. Toeing the rubber for the Yanks tonight will be David Phelps. Phelps spent some time in the New York bullpen in April and May but is back in the rotation in place of the injured CC Sabathia. The 25-year old Phelps worked 3 1/3 innings of relief last week against the White Sox, allowing two runs on four hits. Phelps is 0-1 with a 2.08 ERA in two career major league starts, including a 4 2/3-inning effort against the Rays on May 9 in which he did not allow a run. The Rays have cashed in on Yankkee mistakes in this series but still two players really broke out of long slumps recently. B.J. Upton has recorded back-to-back multi-hit games for the first time since June 10-12. He was in a 4-for-44 slump in 12 games before the Yankees came to town, while INF Sean Rodriguez was in a 17-for-100 slump before going 3-for-4 with a home run on Tuesday.
Free Pick: The Rays have really owned the Yanks in this series and a win here would give them their 2 3 game home sweep of the Yanks this year. David price Is the right man on the mound to get it done. Price is 11-4 with a solid 2.92 ERA , while at home he is 5-2 with a 2.56 ERA. David has won all 5 of his home starts vs AL opponents, posting a 1.19 ERA in the process.David Phelps will be making just his 3 career start here and he has gone 0-11 with a 2.08 ERA in his first 2. No surprises here as one of his starts was vs the Rays, so they have seen him. Phelps has pitched well for the Yanks out of the pen, but he still has a 1.74 WHIP and a 4.86 ERA in 16.2 innings of work on the road. The yanks have done well vs Lefties on the year, but after a great june they are reeling a bit right now and the Rays should once again capitalize and complete the sweep.
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MLB Free Picks: New York Yankees at Tampa Bay Rays Betting
What baseball bettors need to know about Yankees at Rays on Wednesday (7/4/12) - with Pregame.com's Bryan Leonard and host Marco D'Angelo.