The 95-60 Tampa Bay Rays stroll into Yankee Stadium at 7:05 PM EDT on MLB.TV and Rays.TV, looking to expose a New York roster that currently resembles a hospital ward more than a contender. New York's pitching staff has carried the weight with a slick 3.22 team ERA, which is neat, because the offense is hitless in spirit and dragging around a downright tragic .235 batting average with Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton both parked on the injured list. Tampa Bay brings a far healthier .259 team average to town, though their bullpen is missing a couple of key arms in Manuel Rodriguez and Edwin Uceta.
On the mound, Drew Rasmussen brings his shiny 15-5 record, 2.72 ERA, and 163 strikeouts to the Bronx, giving the Rays a starter who actually enjoys his job. New York counters with Max Fried and his equally stingy 2.63 ERA over 106.0 innings, meaning whichever team manages to scrape together three hits might just walk away with a win. Even with Tampa Bay rocking a slightly higher 3.70 team ERA, watching this current iteration of the Yankees try to manufacture runs without their high-priced power bats is a special kind of performance art. Drop your prediction in the comments and lock in your winning pick on StreakChat before first pitch!