Tampa Bay Rays vs New York Yankees Prediction, 5/22/2026 MLB Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Tampa Bay Rays vs New York Yankees

Date: Friday, May 22, 2026

Location: Yankee Stadium in Bronx, NY

TV: YES

Odds/Point Spread: Tampa Bay (+162) New York (-196)

The Tampa Bay Rays (33-15) are en route to Yankee Stadium on Friday where they will try to beat the New York Yankees (30-20). The moneyline on this game has the Rays at +162 while the Yankees are sitting at -196. The total is set at 8.5. The expected starting pitchers will be Nick Martinez and Gerrit Cole.

As a unit, the Tampa Bay Rays are compiling 4.8 runs per outing, which puts them at 8th in the league. They have a total of 232 runs scored while having a team OBP of .335. The Rays have recorded 67 doubles as a squad and have smacked 41 baseballs out of the park. They have compiled 218 RBI's and 422 base knocks so far this year, and their average at the plate is .261. Tampa Bay owns a slugging percentage of .391 and have struck out 342 times, while drawing a walk on 165 occasions.

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The Rays have compiled a team ERA of 3.57 over the course of the season (6th in baseball), and their staff has struck out 377 hitters. Rays pitchers have surrendered 51 home runs and 192 total runs (7th in the league). Their pitching staff has walked 150 opposing batters and their FIP comes in at 4.02 as a team over the course of the season. Tampa Bay has allowed 365 hits (7.6 per 9 innings) and 172 earned runs. They have accrued a K/BB ratio of 2.51 and their pitching staff holds a WHIP of 1.19.

Rays relief pitchers have entered the game with runners on base 46 times in addition to having 57 appearances in high leverage situations. The relievers are sitting with 40 holds this season (3rd in the league). The Rays relief pitchers have a save percentage of 73.3% and have entered the game in 70 save situations. They have tallied 22 saves this year and have blown 8 of their 30 save opportunities. The bullpen pitchers have inherited 60 base runners so far this year with 25.0% of those players crossing home plate. The Rays have sent 156 relievers to the mound for the year.

The Tampa Bay Rays have earned a total of 1,301 putouts this season, in addition to 394 assists and 32 errors. Their fielding rate is at .981 which is 28th in professional baseball, and have earned 30 double plays. The Rays have turned 72.4% of baseballs in play into outs in their 3,903 innings, which has them sitting 3rd in baseball.

Martinez has taken the ball for 993 innings and has tallied 705 strikeouts in his MLB career. His earned run average is 4.01 (443 earned runs allowed) and his WHIP is 1.289. He has allowed 980 hits (8.9 hits per nine innings) and has had 300 free passes. Martinez (52-60 win-loss mark in his career) has a FIP of 3.95 while he has faced 4,203 hitters during his time in the major leagues.

The Yankees have a team SLG% of .429 and they are earning 5.00 runs per game (5th in MLB). They have tallied 84 doubles, while getting a free base 226 times as well as scoring 250 runs. New York has hit 73 HRs this season to go along with 237 runs batted in. They have struck out on 447 occasions (8th in baseball) and have recorded 384 base hits. The New York Yankees have tallied an on-base percentage of .330 and a batting average of .235 over the course of the season.

The Yankees have a team WHIP of 1.174 and have a FIP of 3.44 as a pitching staff on the campaign. They rank 6th in the league as a staff in total hits conceded with 366. The New York pitching staff have allowed 181 runs for the season while holding an ERA of 3.34 (164 earned runs surrendered). Their strikeout to walk ratio comes in at 8.90 (439 strikeouts against 153 free passes). They have relinquished 39 long balls and they concede 3.68 runs per 9 innings (4th in baseball).

New York bullpen pitchers have an inherited score rate of 30.4% out of their 92 inherited runners. Their relief pitchers have stepped onto the mound 57 times in high leverage situations in addition to 59 occasions with base runners. With 54 save situations, the Yankees have earned 32 holds and 9 blown saves. They are ranked 23rd in the league with a save rate of 57.1%, and they have sent 162 relievers to the hill on the campaign.

In their 3,981 innings on the diamond, the Yankees have a efficiency on defense of 71.0% (9th in pro baseball). The New York Yankees have turned 36 double plays and have a fielding rate of .986 (18th in the majors). The Yankees have 471 assists, 25 errors and have 1,327 putouts so far this season.

During his pro baseball career, Cole has conceded 1,627 hits while he has accumulated 2,251 K's in 1,954 innings pitched. He has conceded 690 ER's while holding a WHIP of 1.089 and having a FIP of 3.1. He has a K/BB ratio of 4.50 and he has gone up against 7,861 hitters thus far in his career. Cole (153-80 win-loss record in his career) has earned a 3.18 ERA and has surrendered 7.5 hits per 9 innings.

Who will win tonight's MLB game against the spread or moneyline?

Parlay's Pundit's Pick: Take New York (-196) and under 8.5 runs

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