TAMPA BAY RAYS AT NEW YORK YANKEES BASEBALL BETTING PREVIEW & PICKS – 7/1/14 | OSB

When the New York Yankees play host to the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday night, baseball bettors at BetAnySports will see an interesting and strange dynamic at work, because the pitcher going against the Yankees here may soon become a member of the Bronx Bombers, even though it probably wouldn’t be if it was his choice.

David Price, who won the Cy Young Award a couple of seasons ago, is apparently on the trading block, and the low-budget Rays, looking to perhaps dump his salary and get some prospects in return, may find a willing buyer in the Yankees, who have a couple of holes in their starting rotation and don’t know what kind of form CC Sabathia is going to have when he comes back to action.

So the interesting possible scenario here is that Price’s effort may have an effect on the ultimate fate of the Yankees in the very competitive races in both the American League East and double-wild card. The action will get underway at 7:05 PM ET at Yankee Stadium.

In the baseball betting odds that have been established on this game at BetAnySports, Tampa Bay is a favorite:

Tampa Bay Rays (Price – L) -122

New York Yankees (Kuroda – R) +112

Over 7.5 Runs -110

Under 7.5 Runs -110

The Rays are 36-49 after Logan Forsythe singled home a run in the 12th inning to give Tampa Bay its third consecutive victory. That brought their record to 36-49, but they are still in the fifth-place team in the AL East, 9.5 games behind the Toronto Blue Jays. The Yankees are 41-40, and they are 2.5 games in back of Toronto. They are only 18-21 on their home field. Joe Maddon’s club is trying to tie its longest winning skein of the year, but that likely won’t have a major bearing on whether Price will be dealt. The southpaw is just 6-7 this season, and some of that is a reflection on the lack of offensive support he has received. His 3.63 ERA is adequate, but his strikeout-walk ratio should be very impressive to BetAnySports patrons, as he has more K’s than any pitcher in baseball, with 144, while issuing only fourteen walks.

Maddon has gone on record saying that his stuff is as good as it has ever been. And Price thinks it will be extremely strange for him to find himself in another uniform. And when asked about it by New York reporters, he said that it would be “a little weirder to wear one in the AL East,” an obvious reference to the Yankees. The Los Angeles Dodgers, who already have Clayton Kershaw, Zack Greinke and Josh Beckett in the rotation, are another team that could make an offer for Price, and the rumor is that they are very interested. If a deal like that happened, the baseball betting odds on the Dodgers winning the World Series would be greatly reduced.

Hiroki Kuroda gets the start for the Yankees, and he is kind of an afterthought with his 5-5 record and 4.23 ERA. When last seen, he was going six and a third innings, allowing three runs and eight hits in beating division-leading Toronto. In his last two starts against the Rays, the Yankees have been outscored 18-5. Meanwhile, Price gave up ten hits in five innings, including a pair of homers, in losing 10-2 to the Yanks on April 17, but redeemed himself on May 2 with two runs allowed in seven innings as the Rays won 10-5. Price’s challenge is to keep the ball in the park, but we think he can do it, while at the same time dealing with some of the frustrations. In a mild recommendation, it’s TAMPA BAY -122 in our baseball betting pick for Tuesday.

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