Last season the Tampa Bay Rays reached the American Championship Series, needing five games to get past the New York Yankees in the AL Division Series. Hopefully this will make things a little easier.
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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers attempt to complete the 2026 ALDS with New York at 8 pm ET in Game 3 on Wednesday at Yankee Stadium. The Rays, who defeated the Yankees in this round in 2020 en route to their second World Series appearance in franchise history, edged New York 1-0 in this year’s series opener before pushing their AL East rivals to the brink of elimination with a 5-2 Game 2 victory.
The Rays went 7-6 against New York in the regular season but lost four of six contests at Yankee Stadium, three of four in the penultimate series of the campaign. Tampa Bay has been outscored 155-6 in the final two games in the Bronx, but its pitching staff has kept the Yankees at bay thus far in the ALDS.
New York was limited to one hit in Game 1 as Drew Rasmussen went 7 2/3 innings before Austin Wells hit a straight-field double. However, Wells made the ill-advised decision to try and stretch it into a triple and was easily thrown out to third base. Rays closer Bryan Baker pitched a perfect ninth to preserve the win.
The Yankees didn’t do much better offensively in Game 2, as they registered four hits, two of which were solo homers by Ben Rice. Even worse were the defense, committing four errors – three in the first inning that helped give Tampa Bay a 1-0 lead.
Tampa Bay will look to punch their ticket to the ALCS behind Nick Martinez, who tied a career high with 15 wins this year and tied for second with a 3.10 ERA. The 36-year-old right-hander posted a better ERA on the road (2.38) than at home (3.90) this season and had a 2.16 mark in two starts at Yankee Stadium. Martinez led New York to one run in six scoreless innings on May 22, striking out just two while recording a season-high seven strikeouts over six boards in a 2-0 loss on Sept. 22.
The Yankees are counting on Max Fried to help extend his season. The 32-year-old left-hander, who allowed just one run and three hits over six innings against the Boston Red Sox in Game 2 of the AL Wild Card Series for his first win in 10 total starts at Yankee Stadium in 2026, was tagged for four runs and six hits over 6 2/3 innings as he took the loss in his only home run against the Rays.
The NL Division Series takes place on Wednesday evening, with Game 4 between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Atlanta Braves at 6 pm ET at Truist Park. The two-time reigning world champion Dodgers are one win away from their third straight trip to the NLCS after defeating the Braves 3-1 on Tuesday.
The other NLDS resumes at 10 p.m., when the San Diego Padres host the Milwaukee Brewers in Game 4 at Petco Park. San Diego lost a pair of game-breakers in Milwaukee before coming alive with Tuesday’s 4-3 home triumph, which was capped by Michael King, who kept the Brewers on the board over the final two innings after allowing just one run over five innings in a Game 2 start just two days earlier.
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There are also three games on Wednesday’s NHL schedule, one of which has the Pittsburgh Penguins (2-1-0) facing off against the Washington Capitals (1-1-0) at 7:30 pm ET at Capital One Arena. The Penguins are coming off their first loss of the 2026-27 NHL season, a 3-2 home setback against the Winnipeg Jets, after scoring a total of 13 goals while winning their first two contests. This is the home opener for the Capitals, who began the campaign by splitting a pair of road games.
The two teams looking to make it back-to-back wins collide at the Honda Center as the Anaheim Ducks (2-0-0) host the Edmonton Oilers (2-0-1) at 10 p.m. ET. The Ducks have a season with a pair of one-goal wins, including an overtime triumph over the Florida Panthers in the home opener last Sunday, while the Oilers followed an OT loss to Vancouver with victories against the Canucks and the Seattle Kraken.
The Yankees are -170 Money line betting favors against radiation in the most recent agreement MLB betting odds, the Dodgers are -152 game betting favorites versus the Braves and the Padres are -112 to beat the Brewers. The Capitals are -163 favorites over the Penguins and the Oilers are -132 favorites against the Ducks.
Below is a snapshot of what to watch and bet on Wednesday, Oct. 7. Always in the East
MLB best bets, where they observe
Dodgers at Braves
Time: 6 p.m Location: Atlanta | TV: FS1 | Stream: Fubo (Try it for free)
SportsLine picks up — Model: Braves +1.5 (-138) | an expert: Freddie Freeman Over 1.5 total bases (+37, Angelo Magliocca)
Atlanta’s Tyler Mahle has been outstanding since being acquired by the San Francisco Giants on August 2, allowing fewer than three hits in nine of his 10 starts, including Game 2 of the NL Wild Card series against the Philadelphia Phillies in which he pitched over seven innings. The 32-year-old right-hander scattered three hits over seven scoreless innings en route to the victory in his only outing against Los Angeles this year. Meanwhile, Dodgers righty Tyler Glasnow has gone three innings against the Braves once in 2026. The SportsLine Projection model sees the Braves putting up a strong fight behind Mahle with his season on the line as his simulations cover them. the spread of manufacturing run the line in 63% of his simulations. Los Angeles’ Freddie Freeman homered in back-to-back games after going 19 games without a hit, and it turned out that he went 2-for-3 the only time Mahle has pitched this year, with SportsLine expert Angelo Magliocca believing the veteran first baseman will record at least two total bases in Game 4 as part of his of this vestibule picks up
Rays to the Yankees
Time: 8 p.m Location: Bronx, NY | TV: TBS | Stream: Fubo (Try it for free)
SportsLine picks up — Model: radius +1.5 (-158) | an expert: over 7 (-120, Micah Roberts) ;
The Yankees’ pitching staff destroyed the Boston Red Sox in their AL Wild Card Series, racking up 19 runs and 26 hits in the two-game sweep. Their bats from the Rays managed just five hits in the first two contests of the AL Division Series, including a pair of solo homers by Ben Rice for their only runs in the matchup. Rays righty Nick Martinez has given up fewer than three runs in each of his three starts against New York this year, while Yankees southpaw Max Fried has given up three or more runs in each stretch against Tampa Bay. While he thinks the Yankees will avoid it, SportsLine’s Projection Model sees the Rays keeping Game 3 close as their simulations have them covering the line 65% of the time. The AL East fans have a combined seven runs in Game 2, and SportsLine expert Micha Roberts (38-29-2, +1292 in his last 69 MLB reads) wants to outscore them. By / under the bet line to the bandbox known as Yankee Stadium on Wednesday.
Brewers at the Padres
Time: 10 p.m Location: San Diego | TV: FS1 | Stream: Fubo (Try it for free)
SportsLine picks up — Model: Over 7.5 (-109) | an expert: Walker Buehler.
The Brewers were second in the major leagues in scoring in the regular season with 832 runs and Padres right-hander Walker Buehler has given up seven over 10 1/3 innings in his last two starts this year. Meanwhile, Milwaukee lefty Robert Gasser will make his first career start. The SportsLine Projection model took these facts into account and hit the Plus in nearly 61% of its simulations. Buehler came off with a great performance in his only start against the Brewers this season, allowing one run and three hits over six innings. SportsLine expert Matt Severance expects the 32-year-old to work at least three times in Game 4 as he tries to keep the Padres from getting relegated.
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NHL best bets where to watch
Penguins at Capitals
Time: 7:30 p.m Location: Washington DC | TV: TNT | Stream: Fubo (Try it for free)
SportsLine pick — Model: Over 6.5 (-110)
The Penguins stormed out of the gate this season, scoring seven goals against the Philadelphia Flyers in the opener and scoring six while defeating the Royal Canadiens in overtime in their next game. Washington’s offense also had a strong debut as a team in a triumph over the defending Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes. Pittsburgh was held to two goals by the Winnipeg Jets on Monday, and the Capitals scored once in a loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning last Saturday. However, the SportsLine Projection Model does not think goals will be at a premium in this matchup as its simulations have more than 60% of the time and have assigned an “A” grade.
Oilers at Ducks
Time: 10 p.m Location: Anaheim, Calif TV: ESPN+ | Stream: Fubo (Try it for free)
SportsLine picks up — Model: Oilers ML (-132) | an expert: under 7 (-133, xiii Severance) ;
The Honda Center has been a house of horrors for the Oilers lately. The club lost both regular-season games there in 2024-25, their lone visit to the final campaign. Edmonton then went 0-3 in the arena until a first-round playoff loss to the Ducks this past April. The SportsLine Projection model feels the Oilers are due to end the slide as they post a victory on Wednesday in 55% of their simulations. Although Edmonton has scored 5.7 goals over the first three games of 2026-27 and the Ducks have scored at least three in each of the first two contests, sportsline expert Matt Severance has backed it up in the first of four meetings between the Pacific Division rivals this campaign.
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