New York Yankees vs Tampa Bay Rays Prediction & Picks - MLB

Prediction published on 10/7/26, 4:44 PM  by Bill Christy in MLB Picks

The New York Yankees are in a must-win situation tonight when they host the Tampa Bay Rays in Game 3 of the ALDS. They currently trail 2-0 in the series, and a loss here would all but end the Yankees' postseason run.

In game one, Gerrit Cole was outdueled by Drew Rasmussen. Cole allowed just 1 run over 5 innings while Rasmussen went 8 innings of scoreless work and struck out 10 Yankee batters. Jonathan Aranda hit a solo home run off Cole in the 3rd inning, which proved to be the only run the Rays needed. Bryan Baker relieved Rasmussen in the 9th and struck out 2 to pick up the save.

In game two, Freddy Peralta pitched another strong outing for the Rays. It was not as masterful as Rasmussen, but his 1 earned run over 4.2 innings was good enough. Cam Schlittler of the Yankees allowed 4 runs, with only 2 of them being earned over 4.1 innings. 6 different Rays recorded hits in the 5-2 win and now have themselves primed to take a stranglehold on this series.

Tonight, Nick Martinez will make his 1st start of this postseason for the Rays. For the Yankees, they will have veteran Max Fried start his 2nd game of this postseason.