There’s an AL East showdown between the division’s top two teams on Tuesday. The Tampa Bay Rays were on fire prior to their last three outings and are looking to recapture some momentum to pad the lead at the top, while the New York Yankees have hit a pretty poor rough patch as of late and are trying to escape the spiral. First pitch is at 6:40 p.m. ET.

Here’s a betting prediction and pick for this Yankees vs. Rays matchup courtesy of MLB odds and lines on DraftKings Sportsbook.

Yankees vs. Rays prediction, preview

New York Yankees

The Yankees are mired in a brutal cold stretch at the moment. While they’ve won two of five since July began, they’re just 2-8 over their last 10 outings and are lucky the Rays dropped a couple for the AL East deficit of 3.0 games to stay where it’s at. Of course, New York has a +82 run differential and is one of the most productive offenses in baseball on the year with 4.80 runs per game. However, they’ve dipped to 10th in OPS at .735 with a slash line of .233/.316/.419. Power is the name of the game for these guys with a .186 ISO and 131 homers that pace the MLB. While a 10.4% BB% is a top mark, a 23.9% K% is fifth highest of any team and could certainly be better. As such, this feels like a group that plays into the three true outcomes more than any other. They’ll also be glad to be on the plus side of the splits against a lefty, slashing .243/.319/.432 for a .751 OPS.

RHP Will Warren gets the starting nod with a 7-3 record in 17 appearances. He brings a 3.73 ERA and 1.33 WHIP into this one, plus 91 strikeouts in 89.1 IP. The Yankees’ bullpen is also elite, garnering the second-best ERA at 3.09 with a 1.20 WHIP and 13.9% K-BB%.

Tampa Bay Rays

Recently, the Rays were rolling until now. A nine-game winning streak met an end a few nights ago and they’ve lost three straight outings since, but the club remains atop the AL East at 52-36. Tampa Bay’s run differential sits at +31 and the lineup averages 4.58 runs per game. With a slash line of .258/.335/.394, the Rays are 13th in OPS at .729. They do lack standout power — well, except for Junior Caminero and his seven homers in the last 10 games — with a .136 ISO that falls dead last and 84 homers, fourth fewest of any club. However, their 18.9% K% is still the best in the MLB, complemented by a 9.5% BB% for an 0.50 BB/K ratio. Tonight, they face a right-hander after slashing .262/.341/.410 for a .751 OPS in the split.

LHP Ian Seymour is 5-1 and gets his fifth start of the year after working most of his 31 games from the bullpen. He has a 4.02 ERA with a 1.09 WHIP and 60 strikeouts across 56.0 IP. The Rays’ bullpen is largely average in most regards with an ERA of 4.36 that ranks 21st, plus a 1.25 WHIP and 12.7% K-BB%.

Yankees vs. Rays pick, best bet

DraftKings Sportsbook lists the Rays as -122 home favorites on the Moneyline tonight. The Yankees are underdogs with +101 odds to win outright on the road. The total sits at 7.5 combined runs as well.

Best Bet: Over 7.5 runs (-117)

There’s something to be said about how poor the Yankees’ offense has been as of late. The bats have a .575 OPS over the last week and are at .529 in the last two weeks, also last in the entire MLB. However, they’re bound to get going at some point, and a matchup in which the splits work in their favor feels like a natural starting point. They did score five runs last night against the Rays and have 15 runs per game over their last four outings following some very dry outputs in recent weeks. Perhaps they’re on the upswing after all. As for Tampa Bay, the home club has an .804 OPS over the last 14 days and the offense has largely been quite hot prior to this brief three-game speed bump. With a low game total of 7.5, the over has legs tonight.