The New York Yankees received a strong performance from their pitching staff in the opener of their American League Division Series matchup against the Tampa Bay Rays but had no answer for Drew Rasmussen. In order to be pushed to the brink of elimination, they will need to solve Freddy Peralta.
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The Yankees also face the ALDS with Tropicana Field in St. Louis. Petersburg, Fla. on Monday to face the Rays in Game 2 at 8 p.m. New York held Tampa Bay to one run and five hits in Saturday’s series opener, but managed just one hit of its own in a 1-0 loss.
Jonathan Aranda belted a solo homer off Gerrit Cole in the third inning and Rasmussen, who was making his second career postseason start and first since 2021, pitched a no-hitter into the eighth. The Rays’ right-hander ripped the first two at-bats before Austin Wells’ double down the right field line.
However, Wells made the ill-advised decision to try to stretch it into a triple and was easily thrown to third. Closer Bryan Baker struck out two Yankees in the ninth as Tampa Bay drew first blood.
New York tried to avoid a 0-2 series deficit behind AL Cy Young Award favorite Cam Schlittler, who worked 6 2/3 scoreless innings in a victory over the Boston Red Sox in Game 1 of their Wild Card Series. The 25-year-old right-hander owns a 2.67 career ERA against the Rays, but has made one of five starts. However, the Yankees are 3-2 in those contests, with the two victories coming on the road.
Tampa Bay counters with Peralta, who is just 1-3 with a 4.32 ERA in nine career playoff appearances – six starts. The 30-year-old Dominican right-hander escaped with a no-decision in his only outing against the Yankees in the 2026 regular season, giving up three runs on two hits and six walks over five innings on May 17 while with the New York Mets.
In other ALDS, the Chicago White Sox try to move within one win of the Championship Series when they take on the Cleveland Cavaliers at 5 pm ET in Game 2 to advance to the field. The White Sox, who drew their Wild Card Series with the Houston Astros, hope to improve to 4-0 on the road this season after defeating Cleveland 3-0 in Saturday’s opener. Rookie Japanese star Munetaka Murakami went 2-for-4 with a two-run homer and five combined pitchers in a three-hitter as the AL Central champion Rangers struck out 12 times.
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Week 4 of the 2026 NFL season concludes with the New Orleans Saints (1-2) hosting the NFC South-leading Atlanta Falcons (1-2) at 8:15 pm ET at the Caesars Superdome on Monday night. The Falcons, who went 35-14 last week for their first victory of the year, took a 57-56 lead in the all-time regular-season series with the Saints in 2025.
There are only four games on Monday’s NHL schedule, one of which has the San Jose Sharks (2-0-0) facing off against the Dallas Stars (0-2-0) at 8 pm ET at the American Airlines Center. The Sharks went into overtime to win their first two games of the season at home, while the Stars got off to a rough start offensively, losing by one goal overall in their first two contests.
The Yankees are -124 favorites against the Rays in the latest consensus MLB betting odds, and the Rangers are -152 sports betting odds against the White Sox. The Saints are 1.5-point favorites over the Falcons on Monday night, and the Stars are a whopping -204 to beat the Sharks.
Below is a snapshot of what to watch and bet on Monday, Oct. 5. Always in the East
MLB best bets, where they observe
White Sox at Rangers
Time: 5 p.m Location: Cleveland | TV: TBS | Stream: Fubo (Try it for free)
SportsLine picks up — Model: Over 6.5 (-119) | an expert: Gavin Williams Under 15.5 points (-140, PropBetGuy)
A total of three runs scored in Game 1, which was an anomaly for their AL Central rivals. In his 13 regular season meetings, he has scored at least seven runs 11 times, including six of the seven on the Progressive Field. The SportsLine Projection model projects the offense will influence Game 2 as Plus hits in nearly 71% of its simulations. Cleveland right-hander Gavin Williams made four starts against Chicago in 2026 and worked more than five innings just once. SportsLine backs expert PropBetGuy (134-91, +2350 in his last 225 MLB player reads) doesn’t think the 27-year-old will go deeper in Monday’s contest.
Yankees at Rays
Time: 8 p.m Location: St. Petersburg, Fla TV: TBS | Stream: Fubo (Try it for free)
SportsLine picks up — Model: Over 6.5 (-115) | an expert: Yankees ML (-123, Mich. Roberts)
The Yankees and Rays are tied for a big total of one run in the series opener after finishing at least seven in eight of their 13 regular season matchups. AL East rivals scored eight or more runs in five of their seven contests at Tropicana Field. Yankees righty Cam Schlittler was perfect in two of his three career playoff starts, but both of those starts were against the Boston Red Sox. When he pitched for the Toronto Blue Jays in last year’s ALDS, the 22-year-old struck out four in 6 1/3 innings. The SportsLine Projection Model thinks the Rays could put some on the board against him on Monday, and his simulations have him hitting more than 67% of the time. Including against Boston in the Wild Card Series, Schlittler has allowed fewer than two earned runs in 10 consecutive outings. SportsLine expert Micah Roberts (36-28-2, +1215 in his last 66 MLB reads) believes he will come up with another stellar effort and even help the Yankees’ streak.
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NFL betting where to watch
Falcons among the Saints
Time: 8:15 pm | Location: New Orleans | TV: ESPN | Stream: Fubo (Try it for free)
SportsLine picks up — Model: Over 47.5 (-112) | an expert: Saints -1.5 (-111, RJ White);
After scoring a total of 16 points in the first two games of the season, the Falcons scored 35 in a triumph at Green Bay last week. The Saints have scored at least three points in each of their games, and have allowed 31 or more twice. The SportsLine Projection Model doesn’t feel points will be at a premium when they collide on Monday Night Football as they hit over 52% of their simulations. New Orleans has been very competitive this year and could easily be 3-0, and the team should not lack motivation with their hated rival on the 20th anniversary of their return to the Superdome following Hurricane Katrina. SportsLine expert RJ White (42-30-3, +923 in his last 75 NFL reads) thinks the Saints will be good enough to cover the spread.
NHL best bets where to watch
From the stars to the stars
Time: 8 p.m Location: Dallas | TV: ESPN+ | Stream: Fubo (Try it for free)
SportsLine picks up — Model: sharks +1.5 (-152) | an expert: Stellae ML (-164, Thomas Casale)
This season, the Sharks have yet to taste defeat, as they got past the Florida Panthers and the Los Angeles Kings in overtime in their first two games. Dallas got off to a horrible start offensively, allowing a total of one goal in losses to the St. Louis Blues and Nashville Predators. San Jose has scored nine goals so far, and the SportsLine Projection Model sees them at least watching in Dallas, as its simulations have the Sharks extending 74% of the time. SportsLine expert Thomas Casale is leaning on his Stars to win for the first time in 2026-27, however, he thinks his offense will finally show up.
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