RAYS ROLL, NOW 1.5 GAMES BACK; A WAKE UP CALL IN THE BRONX

The team from Tampa is coming for the Yankees. Between the lines and in the locker room, the Rays are playing hard and talking loud — and winning. It seems like a war has been going on and only one side is taking it seriously so far.

With last night’s 6-3 victory, the Rays have broken the Yankees 10-game home winning streak, and tonight they’re going after Gerrit Cole’s personal 20-game winning streak. Eleven days ago they prevented him from winning number 20, as Cole did not figure in the decision of New York’s 8-4 win on August 8th.

The Yankee have not dropped two straight at The Stadium since August of 2019, albeit those losses were 11 days apart and against different opponents.

Here’s a little research that will hopefully be of help filling out your daily fantasy baseball lineups. Good luck, and let’s go Yankees!

DRAFTKINGS CONTEST : Lineup tips and player salaries are for the MLB $5K Quarter Jukebox, an 11-game ‘Classic’ rules contest starting at 7:05pm EST, 4:05am PT.

TV / RADIO : TV: YES, Radio: WFAN 660/101.9 FM, WADO 1280; Tampa TV: Fox Sports Sun; Radio: WDAE 620AM/95.3 FM

THE WISE GUYS : With the Yankees’ ace on the mound, the sportsbooks are liking New York over Tampa tonight. The moneyline consensus is Yankees -180, Rays +160, with an Over/Under of 8.

BALLPARK CONDITIONS : It will be a pleasant evening in The Bronx with the temperature at 75° under partly cloudy skies at game-time. NNE winds should be about 5mph, with a 20% chance of showers. Humidity should be 63%.

FAST FACTS : A lot of things are going right at the moment for the Tampa Rays, as they look to clinch a series win in tonight’s middle game of three.

• In their last 10 games, Tampa is 9-1 straight up.
• In their last 7 games against the Yankees, the Rays are 6-1 straight up.
• In their last 9 games at Yankee Stadium, the Rays are 2-7 straight up.

GLASNOW vs YANKEES : Tyler Glasnow (0-1, 7.04 ERA, WHIP 1.76, 27Ks, $8,800) has recorded a total of 28 career at-bats against the current pinstripe lineup, allowing 7 hits, striking out 13 and giving up only one home run — to 1B Mike Ford ($3,600).

Glasnow relies primarily on a 98mph four-seam fastball that results in above league average swing and miss numbers. His secondary pitch is an 83mph breaking ball, along with a seldom used change up (low 90s).

Over 4 starts so far in 2020, Glasnow is yet to pitch past the 5th inning. His BABIP (batting average on balls in play) is a bloated .463, and K/BB (walk to strikeout ratio) is 2.70.

LINEUP NOTES :

• Glasnow has been stingy overall with the home run ball (allowing 3 total) but is having more trouble putting away right-handed batters (.281 BA)
• This will be Glasnow’s 4th career start against the Yankees (0-2, 5.68 ERA, WHIP 1.895), and his first in Yankee Stadium.
• Look for OF Clint Frazier ($4,600) to continue his string of good ABs. He hit a couple on the screws last night without much to show for it, but these will start to drop.
• 1B Luke Voit (4,600) is worth strong consideration at first base tonight. He’s on 7-21 tear with 3 home runs and 6 RBI.

COLE vs TAMPA : The Yankees will be relying on Gerrit Cole (4-0, 2.76 ERA, WHIP 0.8, 34Ks, $11,000) to be the stopper tonight. A loss will leave New York with a .5 game lead in the AL East, and the looming possibility of getting swept out of first place, at home no less.

LINEUP NOTES :

• Against the Ray’s current rosters, Cole is keeping hitters to a .226 BA over 100 ABs, walking only 5 and striking out 41. He’s allowed only 3 home runs (to Ji-Man Choi, Yandy Diaz and Mike Zunino).
• Cole sports an 0-2 career mark against Tampa with a 3.65 ERA over 5 starts, but with 47 strikeouts in 30.1 innings.
• Gerrit Cole is a strikeout pitcher and the Rays strike out almost 25% of the time, averaging 9.46 Ks per game, tied for 24th worst in MLB.
• 2B Brandon Lowe ($5,100) is red-hot and leading the Rays in almost all major offensive categories, and his increased DraftKings salary is an indication of that.
• OF Austin Meadows ($4,900) has been putting together some nice at-bats lately, with 3 home runs overall and an .908 OPS.
• Power-htting 1B Ji-Man Choi ($3,400) has been ice cold at 7-65 (.169), although he is 3-5 (.667) with 1 home run off Cole.

INJURED LIST : Yankees on the IL include DJ LeMahieu (thumb sprain, day-to-day), Aaron Judge (mild right calf strain, 10-day), Luis Severino (elbow, out for the season), C Kyle Higashioka (right oblique strain, 10-day), Giancarlo Stanton (hamstring, 10-day) and Tommy Kahnle (forearm, out for the season, Tommy John).

TAMPA INJURED LIST : P Charlie Morton (shoulder, out until August 22), P Oliver Drake (Biceps, out until August 24th), P Colin Poche (elbow, out for the season, Tommy John), and P Jose Alvarado (shoulder, out until August 25).

IMPORTANT : Check back after the official lineups have been announced (usually by 2pm EST), and definitely double-check your DraftKings MLB fantasy line at least 15-20 minutes prior to gametime (7:05pm EST/4:05pm PT) to make sure all of your picks are starting. Good luck, and Let’s Go Yankees!

FANTASY BASEBALL STRATEGY TIPS If you’re new to daily fantasy baseball or need a quick refresher course in putting an effective lineup together, don’t miss our “How to get your DraftKings MLB groove back in 2020” article. A short but sweet tutorial on proven strategies to help position you to win some dineros!