Top of the Ticket - Side

NEW YORK YANKEES (Gaudin)-145 over Tampa Bay Devil Rays (Price)

3* #920 NY YANKEES over TAMPA BAY

In turning that 6* Run Line ticket against Tampa Bay in the night cap of Monday's double-header we noted just how fragile the psychological state of the team was, and the Rays promptly suffered an 11-1 beating that took the situation from bad to worse. It does not get any better here, and we believe the the oddsmakers are selling this far short of the true realities. When one side is 16.5 games behind the other, and the home/away splits are 29-40 going into a 47-20, it shows that the past reputation of Tampa is carrying much more weight than it should. The Rays enter this game on an 0-6 slide and the prime culprit is also one of the reasons why tonight's line is fair; the bullpen has been a disaster, and that part of the game is still under-valued in today's marketplace. Five times in those six games Tampa was either tied or in the lead from the 6th inning on, but an over-matched and worn out relief corps can no longer get the job done. The bullpen sports a 9.56 ERA in this streak, and the Yankee lineup in this particular stadium is not a place to turn that around. It is also not a prime spot for David Price to be successful, with a 1-4/6.81 on the road this season that includes getting stretched out to 106 pitches over 5.2 frames in his only appearance here. Chad Gaudin brings nothing special to the table, and that is actually a bonus for us because it brings a favorable price point. But he understands what is on the line here, a chance to pitch his way onto the playoff roster, and with 121 strikeouts in 123 innings this season his arm has shown some pop. Now he gets to face a lineup that will badly miss the bat of Carlos Pena, and also knows that his job is merely to build a bridge to a bullpen that had an easy time of it on Monday, courtesy of C. C. Sabathia and A. J. Burnett. That bullpen becomes the key element here, having major edges over their Tampa counterparts that should comfortably secure this one in the latter stages.