Yankees vs. Rays Prediction, Odds, Probable Pitchers, Prop Bets for Thursday, April 17

The New York Yankees head to Florida to take on the Tampa Bay Rays in a four-game series spanning through the weekend.

The Yankees are holding on to a slight 0.5 game lead over the Toronto Blue Jays atop the AL East. Meanwhile, the Rays are hoping to find some momentum, sitting at 8-10 and losing two straight ahead of tonight's series opener.

Let's dive into the odds and my best bet for Thursday night action.

Yankees vs. Rays Odds, Run Line, and Total

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook

Run Line

Yankees -1.5 (+142)
Rays +1.5 (-170)

Moneyline

Yankees -110
Rays -110

Total

9 (Over -102/Under -118)

Yankees vs. Rays How to Watch

Date: Thursday, April 17
Game Time: 7:05 PM EST
Venue: George M. Steinbrenner Field
How to Watch (TV): Amazon Prime Video, FanDuel Sports Florida, FanDuel App (TB)
Yankees Record: 11-7
Rays Record: 8-10

Yankees vs. Rays Probable Pitchers

New York: Will Warren, RHP (1-0, 5.14 ERA)
Tampa Bay: Taj Bradley, RHP (2-0, 3.71 ERA)

Yankees vs. Rays Best Prop Bet

Taj Bradley OVER 6.5 Strikeouts (-110) via DraftKings

As good as the Yankees' bats have been to start the year, they haven't been afraid to go down swinging. Entering tonight's game, they rank sixth in the Majors in strikeout percentage, striking out on 24.6% of their plate appearances. Taj Bradley, the Rays starter, has reached seven strikeouts in three straight games. I'll bet him to reach that number again tonight.

Yankees vs. Rays Prediction and Pick

We have two offenses set to face off tonight who both rank inside the top seven in the Majors in OPS this season. The Yankees lead the pack at .828 while the Rays come in at seventh at .746. On top of that, they're combining for an average of 10.44 runs per game.

With two hot offenses like that facing off, I'm going to bet the OVER, despite it being at a relatively high number of 9. Will Warren gets the start for the Yankees, and he has a 5.14 ERA through his first three starts, so not only are the offenses hot, but we're not exactly in for a pitchers' duel either.

Give me the OVER in this AL East duel.

Pick: OVER 9 (-102) via DraftKings

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You can check out all of Iain's bets here!