(expired)MLB: New York Yankees at Tampa Bay Rays 30 Jul 2010

The battle for the American League East takes centre stage on Friday night as the Tampa Bay Rays take on the reigning World Series Champions, the New York Yankees at Tropicana Field. Catch all the action live on ESPN America from Midnight.

New York Yankees (65-36) @ Tampa Bay Rays (63-38)

With the Red Sox falling further behind and a healthy lead in the wild card it seems that the Yankees and the Rays will be battling it out for the AL East title for the rest of the season knowing that they are both in good position to make the playoffs.

This will be the ninth meeting between the two teams this season with the Yankees taking two from three the first time they meet in Tampa in April. However, while the two teams are familiar with each other this is the first time this season that Yankee starter Phil Hughes will face the Rays. Hughes started the season exceptionally well but has had problem over his last ten starts. In that period his ERA has gone from 2.70 to 4.04 although he has still managed to register a 7-2 record although that is more a testament to the Yankees offense. In his last five starts Hughes has allowed five or more earned runs three times and has seen his strikeout rate slowly decrease. He is still an extremely solid pitcher but against an effective offense like Tampa’s he may struggle to keep the runs down.

Taking the mound for the Rays is a pitcher who has vastly improved his game over the last month or so. There was a lot expected of Wade Davis when the season but it took the rookie a while to get settled in. June was an especially tough month for Davis as he went 0-5 with a 6.00 ERA in five starts but he has managed to turn his form around and is 3-0 with a 3.16 ERA in four starts in July. Wade has faced the Yankees twice this season including in his first game of the season at home; taking the loss on April 10^th as he gave up four earned in six innings. Davis’s recent numbers have been against the Indians and the Orioles who are hardly power-house offenses so he will have more trouble against the Yankees but he has proved already this season that he has the stuff to beat the Bombers.

This match could easily be a high scoring game as both pitchers can give up a few runs especially as they are both very good offenses. In fact every game this season between the two teams has had at least nine runs so Over 9 Runs at 10/11 looks a good call on the total runs market. As for the match winner it’s take your pick, with the Rays available at 10/11 and the Yankees priced at 4/5.

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