When fans of baseball and baseball lines purists think of the great rivalries in the sport and the great teams that have played the game it’s to keep the cutthroat Yankees-Red Sox rivalry from the top of that list.
These two storied franchises have beat each other’s brains in for decades and provided some of the longest lasting memories in the game.
What about the Yankees-Rays rivalry?
True, this doesn’t roll off the tongue with the same ease as the New York-Boston hate fest but it’s quickly shaping up into the best rivalry in the baseball odds action.
The Red Sox and Yankees is still a great rivalry but the Sox have taken a backseat to the Rays as they’ve slid into playoff irrelevance. And while the Sox were busy simply trying to field a team after being disseminated by injuries the Yankees and Rays have been duking it out in the standings for the AL East title and the AL Wild Card berth.
The Yankees (90-59) currently hold a slim .5 game lead over the Rays (89-59) in a division in which the lead has seemed to seesaw back and forth between these two teams for the past month. Granted, both teams will qualify for the baseball lines playoff action but home field advantage is one the line and you better believe this series and this Tuesday night game are important.
The Yankees will start Phil Hughes at home in the New Yankee Stadium a place where the team has dominated opponents and racked up a 49-25 record. Hughes has pitched well this year (16-8, 4.31 ERA) and especially at home. But he’s struggled of late losing 5 of his last 9 decisions.
That might be just the break that the Rays need to get a tough AL East baseball odds win on the road. James Shields (13-12, 4.86 ERA) will start for Tampa. Shields is 3-1 over his past 6 starts but he hasn’t been pitching extraordinarily well.
This baseball lines showdown will likely be settled at the plate as both starting pitchers have been giving up runs. If does come down to a hitters duel expect the Rays to get the better of the Yankees as this team is one of the best hitting clubs in baseball right now.