The Tampa Bay Rays and the fans are losing faith after a rough mid-week series with the New York Yankees. The series concludes Thursday as the Rays attempt to salvage one win against the hot New York Yankees.

The Rays will face the Yankees in a week and if they play as poorly at home as they have in Yankee Stadium, their wild card hopes will be destroyed. Make sure you check out all of the baseball props at Legends.com.

For the series finale Thursday September 22 the Yankees will send the vulnerable Bartolo Colon (8-9) to the mound to face Jeff Niemann (11-7). The odds are in the Rays favor to salvage a win in the series after a spirited game on Wednesday night.

Niemann has won seven of his last 10 starts and he did beat the New York Yankees 5-1 in his last start, allowing just one run in seven plus innings.

The Rays carried a 2-2 tie into the eighth inning but the Yankees bats rose to the occasion. Nick Swisher led it off with a double, followed by walks to Mark Teixeira and Robinson Cano to load the bases for pinch-hitter Jorge Posada.

The embattled Posada came through in the clutch with a two RBI single giving the Yankees the lead 4-2. Rafael Soriano received a rare save opportunity as the all-time MLB saves leader, Mariano Rivera, looked on.

The third win in the series dims the hopes of the Rays who are now locked in a wild card battle with the Los Angeles Angels and the Boston Red Sox.

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Check out MLB Betting for this matchup closer to the opener Friday.

The Yankees will be the favorites in this game, as they have the better record and they are the home team, but you certainly can’t count out the Mets in this one. The Mets are 7-3 in their last 10 games and they look like they are on their way up, getting fuel from their rejuvenated lineup.

The Yankees seem to be on the way down, losing their last 5 games and winning just 3 of their last 10 games. They were passed by the Tampa Bay Rays this past week in the American League East Standings.

The Mets have seen more production from Jason Bay and Carlos Beltran recently. Big seasons from both of those players could help them find their way back to the playoffs, despite suffering from a poor start to the season.

The Yankees have recently been troubled with drama from longtime players. Jorge Posada has struggled all season and was moved to the 9th spot in the order. He recently made some complaints and refused to play in a game because he did not want to bat 9th in the lineup. This has caused a stir in the organization and it could be a distraction for the Yankees until they take care of the problem.

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Against the AL Central-leading Minnesota Twins, the Tampa Bay Rays hope an extra-inning win means they are finally putting a dismal June behind them.

They have to feel good about their chances of continuing to build on that trend, with David Price going to the mound. The Rays continue a four-game series against the Twins on Friday and Price will try for his AL-leading 12th win.

On Wednesday, with a 9-4 win over division rival Boston, Tampa Bay (46-32) went 11-14 in June, but closed the month, and then opened July with a 5-4, 10-inning victory over Minnesota (43-36) on Thursday for back-to-back wins for the first time since a three-game winning streak June 6-9.

In the ninth, After Evan Longoria hit a run-scoring double to plate Carl Crawford with the tying run, Willie Aybar drove in the go-ahead run in the 10th.Crawford, in his last three starts has two four-hit games, healthy again after being held out of the lineup last week for three straight games because of a sore left shoulder.

Minnesota in its inaugural season at Target Field dropped to 25-15, leads Detroit by one game in the AL Central. Scott Baker (6-7, 3.97), the right-hander will try to avoid a third straight loss and the Twins now hope that he can end his recent funk as he takes the ball. He has dropped three of four, after allowing season highs of 6 runs and 11 hits.

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Although Rays don’t have a good record in Seattle but they did well to win Game 1. The win will definitely give the team a positive boost. The Rays (19-7) go into the Game 2, seeking their first series win in Seattle since taking three of four Aug. 8-10, 2008.

While going a major league-best-9-1 on the road, the Rays have average 6.9 runs. They definitely look to improve it this season. Key player for Rays is James Shields (3-0, 3.38 ERA). Against the Seattle, in his six starts, he is 2-2 with a 2.34 ERA.

The Seattle Mariners must win Game 2 to stay alive in the series. They just can’t allow Rays to get past them. Mariners hope that call-ups Ryan Langerhans and Josh Wilson will provide the much needed boost to the team. The team dropped struggling veteran Eric Byrnes and sent Matt Tuiasosopo to Triple-A Tacoma. Chone Figgins will also play a crucial role. He is 6 for 17 versus Shields.

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