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May, 15 2008 4:10pm EST
MONEYLINE: Tampa Bay Rays -145
WIN for +1.38 unit(s)

New York Yankees at Tampa Bay Rays

Play ON Tampa Bay Rays $ line (-) vs New York Yankees @ 4:10 PM ET The Rays are well worth the price in this Thursday afternoon match-up. The Yankees snuck out a win yesterday and are looking to earn a 2-2 split in this four game series but their offense is still stuck in a slump! A slumping offense is not a good recipe for success at Tropicana Field. This is especially true when youre up against Scott Kazmir of the Rays. Hes been very tough on the Yankees in his career. The Rays southpaw has a 3.00 ERA in eight career starts against the Yanks. Kazmir has been most impressive against the Yankees at home where he has a 1.45 ERA in five career starts. Note that Robinson Cano went 4 for 4 in yesterdays game but hes just 1 for 11 in his career against Kazmir. Also, with Alex Rodriguez and Jorge Posada hurt, the Yankees need more production from guys like Derek Jeter and Hideki Matsui. That extra production is not likely to come today as Jeter and Matsui are a combined 6 for 40 against Kazmir in their careers! The Yankees are now 3.5 games behind Tampa Bay and theyve averaged just 2.9 runs per game in their last eight games! Kazmir is coming off of a very strong start against the Los Angeles Angels as he shut them out and held them to just three hits over six innings. He also signed a big contract yesterday and certainly the mental aspect of his game should be in tip-top shape. Kazmir is happy to be pitching for a winner and hes looking forward to being locked up with the Rays for future seasons. Kazmirs situation is quite different from that of Yankees starter Ian Kennedy. The Yanks righthander is 0-2 this season with an 8.37 ERA. Kennedy has more walks than strikeouts on the season. 20 walks in 23.2 innings of work is asking for trouble! Tonights game will be Kennedys third start against the Rays this season so they are already quite familiar with him and theyve enjoyed success against him this season! Note that Kennedy has only lasted past the fifth inning once in his five starts this season! Also note that the Rays had won six straight games overall and they had won eleven games in a row at home before yesterdays loss. Look for them to bounce back with a big win Thursday afternoon behind a decided pitching advantage!