Rays vs. Yankees Prediction, Odds & Best Bets: Scuffling AL East Rivals Square Off

Neither the Rays nor the Yankees have had much success since the All-Star break, but this series means that one of them is going to win on Monday night.

Andrew Brennan

Last Updated: July 28, 2025 2:10 PM EDT • 4 minute read

Rays vs. Yankees Prediction, Odds & Best Bets: Monday, July 28 — Pictured: Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Chandler Simpson runs to second after hitting a double, and he's highlighted in our Rays vs. Yankees prediction. Photo by Katie Stratman via Imagn Images.

Essentially, every team in the AL East not named the Toronto Blue Jays is struggling to some extent, but perhaps none more than the Tampa Bay Rays. However, our Rays vs. Yankees prediction expect the road underdogs to right the ship tonight in The Bronx.

With Drew Rasmussen taking the hill for the visitors, we're expecting the big righty to outdo counterpart Cam Schlittler when this one gets underway from Yankee Stadium at 7:05 p.m. ET.

The Rays have recently moved Chandler Simpson to the leadoff spot, and he's been stealing bases for fun. My Rays vs. Yankees best bets look for more of the same tonight.

Rays vs. Yankees prediction: Rays to win (+110 via BetMGM) ⭐⭐⭐
Best Rays vs. Yankees player props: Chandler Simpson Over 0.5 stolen bases (+160 via bet365) ⭐⭐⭐⭐

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✅ Rays vs. Yankees prediction: Rays moneyline (+110 via BetMGM)

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This one is pretty tightly priced across our best sports betting sites, as the Yankees are marginal -130 favorites nearly across the board. We've seen some movement in favor of New York all morning, but I'm going against the public by backing the underdog Rays in my Rays vs. Yankees prediction.

Rasmussen has been frustrating fantasy managers for nearly a month now, with abbreviated outing after abbreviated outing. However, the point remains that when he pitches, for however long it is, he provides the Rays with quality innings.

The right-hander owns impressive peripherals to go along with his strong surface stats, so there's no reason to think he can't continue to pitch well throughout the rest of the regular season.

Of course, the starting pitching matchup isn't the end all, be all of any single baseball game, but Schlittler is projected to struggle mightily tonight while Rasmussen appears poised for another strong start. I'll back the Rays bullpen to limit the damage when he exits and win a close one.

💰 Best Rays vs. Yankees player props

✅ Best Rays vs. Yankees player prop: Chandler Simpson Over 0.5 stolen bases (+160 via bet365)

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Simpson ranks third in all of baseball with 32 steals this season despite not qualifying for the distinction. His 12 stolen bases during the last month also pace the league and are two more than Jose Ramirez's 10 (Ramirez has played five more games in that time, too).

The speedy outfielder was hitting toward the bottom of the Rays' lineup for most of the season until recently when the team moved him to the leadoff spot. Since then, Simpson has six steals in nine games, and he's failed to record a hit in only two of those contests.

I know these are super short odds, but I truly believe Simpson is just as likely to steal a base on any given night as most players are to go Over 1.5 bases. He has a 98th percentile expected batting average, and he almost always has the green light once he reaches base.

Additionally, neither Austin Wells nor Ben Rice is even remotely strong when it comes to throwing out baserunners. The former has a 24th percentile pop time, while the latter doesn't qualify but is even slower. Simpson could run wild on the Yankees tonight, and that makes him my best Rays vs. Yankees player prop.

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Written by:
Andrew Brennan

Andrew Brennan is a publishing editor for Sportsbook Review. He also heads the website’s MLB coverage, from the various futures markets to daily picks. Andrew believes a math-based approach is the best way to enjoy long-term success in sports betting, and he’s spent the better part of the last year fine-tuning his own process for MLB, NBA, and NFL picks. Andrew uses eight different sportsbooks to find the best odds available and various projection models to gather as much information as he can. His most used sportsbooks are bet365, FanDuel, and theScore Bet. When it comes to daily projection models, he regularly references NumberFire across all sports, as it’s one of the best free tools available. In terms of which daily markets Andrew attacks, he almost exclusively bets on pitcher strikeouts for baseball. When the winter rolls around, you’ll see him providing more variety when it comes to the NBA (points, assists, rebounds) and NFL (almost any offensive-based player prop). He used these tools to go +150 units in 2023. Andrew is also a passionate fantasy sports player. He’s played fantasy football, fantasy Premier League, and fantasy baseball for the last decade. He graduated from Durham College with his diploma in journalism after earning his degree in law from Carleton University. He’s worked in sports media since early 2017, first contributing at FanSided before moving to theScore. He joined SBR in 2022.