New York Yankees (8-4, first in the AL East) vs. Tampa Bay Rays (5-7, third in the AL East)

St. Petersburg, Florida; Friday, 7:10 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Yankees: Luis Gil (0-0); Rays: Steven Matz (2-0, 4.09 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 10 strikeouts)

Yankees -147, Rays +123; over/under is 8 runs

BOTTOM LINE: The Tampa Bay Rays begin a three-game series at home against the New York Yankees on Friday.

Tampa Bay is 5-7 overall and 1-2 at home. The Rays have the ninth-best team slugging percentage in MLB play at .379.

New York is 5-1 on the road and 8-4 overall. The Yankees have a 4-0 record in games when they record eight or more hits.

The matchup Friday is the first meeting this season between the two teams.

TOP PERFORMERS: Yandy Diaz has a double, a triple and two home runs for the Rays. Chandler Simpson is 15 for 39 with a triple over the past 10 games.

Aaron Judge leads the Yankees with three home runs while slugging .444. Giancarlo Stanton is 12 for 39 with two doubles, a home run and six RBI over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Rays: 5-5, .241 batting average, 4.60 ERA, outscored by 11 runs

Yankees: 6-4, .192 batting average, 2.83 ERA, outscored opponents by 15 runs

INJURIES: Rays: Garrett Cleavinger: 15-Day IL (calf), Steven Wilson: 60-Day IL (back), Edwin Uceta: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Gavin Lux: 10-Day IL (shoulder), Ryan Pepiot: 15-Day IL (hip), Manuel Rodriguez: 60-Day IL (elbow)

Yankees: Gerrit Cole: 15-Day IL (elbow), Carlos Rodon: 15-Day IL (elbow), Clarke Schmidt: 60-Day IL (elbow), Anthony Volpe: 10-Day IL (shoulder)

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.