Tampa Bay Rays vs Ny Yankees Yankees Picks and Predictions July 11th 2024

Yankees Aim for Series Win as shafts Introduce Shane Baz

The New York Yankees, seeking their first series victory in nearly a month, face the Tampa Bay Rays in the decisive game of a three- game set on Thursday inSt. Petersburg, Florida. After securing a 2- 1 win on Wednesday night, the Yankees hope to carry much- needed momentum into their critical weekend series with the Baltimore Orioles.

The Yankees preliminarily won the first three games of their four- game series against the Kansas City Royals on June 10- 12, but also endured a rough patch, dropping 17 of their next 23 games.

Wednesday’s Game Highlights

In Wednesday’s victory, Trent Grisham drove in both of New York’s runs and made a crucial catch in right- center field to end the eighth inning. The Yankees’ relievers, starting with Tim Hill in the fifth inning, constantly worked out of jams to save the win.

” That was the ultimate bend but do not break, playing the nickel defense on’em there,” Yankees director Aaron Boone said.” Just a great job. A lot of big moments in that game, especially with what we are going through and guys just coming through over and over again.”

The Rays plodded offensively, going 0- for- 10 with runners in scoring position and stranding 12 on base, resulting in their fourth loss in five games.

” We did a lot of good things and had some good at- bats to get guys on base,” Rays director Kevin Cash said.” Just could not find a way to get that big hit to get us back in the ballgame.”

Cortes’s Challenge

Yankees left-handed pitcher Nestor Cortes, with a record of 4-7 and a 3.41 ERA, will attempt to end a three-game losing skid during his next start on Thursday. Cortes surrendered three runs in road games against the Atlanta Braves and Toronto Blue Jays, but only gave up a solo home run in a no-decision versus the Boston Red Sox on Friday, despite allowing three hits in six innings.

This season, Cortes showed a clear distinction in his performance when playing at home versus away. His performance in home games is 4 wins and 3 losses with a 1.81 earned run average in 10 matches, whereas in away games, he has 0 wins and 4 losses with a 5.63 earned run average in nine matches. He has faced the Rays 14 times, starting nine of those games, and currently holds a record of 2 victories and 4 defeats, along with an ERA of 4.19.

Before this season, Cortes had experienced a variety of results when playing against Tampa Bay. He threw seven innings without allowing any runs in a game on April 20, but surrendered four runs on five hits, with two home runs, in a 5 1/3 inning loss to the Rays on May 11.

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Return of Baz

Shane Baz, a right-handed pitcher for Tampa Bay with a record of 0-1 and a 4.50 ERA, will be starting at Tropicana Field for the first time since June 28, 2022. Baz came back from Tommy John surgery and proved he can still throw hard, reaching 98 mph in his first game in two years last Friday, a 3-0 defeat against the Texas Rangers. During the game, Baz gave up three runs with seven hits and one walk while striking out six batters in six innings.

” I try and put every outing past me, like, good or bad and just start focusing on the next one,” Baz said, according to the Tampa Bay Times.” I would say I attacked well. That is always my goal. So, yeah, I am going to just try and stick to the game plan( Thursday).”

Baz will be making his 11th career start and his third against the Yankees. In his former two encounters with New York, he has no decisions and a2.45 ERA.

Conclusion

As the Yankees and Rays prepare for the final game of their series, both teams have high stakes. The Yankees are looking to solidify a important- demanded series win and build momentum, while the Rays are eager to bounce back from recent struggles. With Nestor Cortes and Shane Baz taking the mound, the game promises to be a compelling matchup that could set the tone for both teams as they head into their next series.