The market heavily values the Rays' home field and massive six days of rest, pricing them as favorites. However, in playoff baseball, an extended layoff often leads to hitter rust, which is highly dangerous when facing an elite ace like Gerrit Cole. The Yankees enter the series with a perfect three days of rest—enough to keep their bullpen fresh while maintaining their offensive rhythm from the Wild Card round.
The Yankees' bats have been much hotter lately, hitting .265 with 14 home runs in their last ten games. Meanwhile, the Rays have struggled at the plate, hitting just .226 with 7 home runs in the same span. Backing Gerrit Cole and a hot offense as underdogs presents excellent value in Game 1.
