AL East rivals Tampa Bay Rays and New York Yankees clash in the opener of an important three-game series Friday at Yankee Stadium (7:10 pm ET, FOX).
The Yankees are a -180 moneyline favorite and the over/under total is 8.5 in MLB Odds at online sportsbooks.
This series could decide first place in the division as the Yankees (56-32) are just two games ahead of the second-place Rays (54-34).
Both teams have been red-hot, each winning eight of their past 10 overall heading into the All-Star break.
In their last game, the Rays beat the Cleveland Indians 6-5 as a -240 favorite on Sunday. The 11 runs went over the over/under total of 8.5. Tampa Bay won the four-game series 3-1.
Jason Bartlett drove in the game-winning run for Tampa Bay in the 10th inning and Carl Crawford hit a two-run homer and scored three runs.
The Yankees also completed a 3-1 series win in their last game, an 8-2 victory over the Seattle Mariners as a -270 favorite on Sunday. The score went over the total of 8.
Marcus Thames hit a two-run home run and scored a pair of runs for New York, while Mark Teixeira was 4-5 with an RBI in the win.
The Rays will start ace James Shields, who has a 6-9 record with a 4.92 ERA this season. The Yankees will counter with their own ace, C.C. Sabathia, who is 12-3 with a 3.09 ERA.
The total has gone over in all five of the past five meetings.
