Many figured the New York Yankees and Tampa Rays would square off at some point during the postseason, and though the venue of Petco Park in San Diego is a curveball, the two starters for Monday night’s Game 1 of the American League Division Series will be throwing gas.

The Rays are going with 2018 AL Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell, who across his past four starts has gone north of five innings in each with a combined four runs surrendered. In two starts against the Yankees in 2020, Snell has worked only eight total innings with three runs allowed, but he has the benefit of being backed up by a terrific bullpen.

The Rays bullpen ERA was the third-best in the MLB despite being utilized for the second-most innings of any team. The Yankees ranked 15th, though injuries and the COVID-19 absence of Aroldis Chapman certainly had something to do with that.

Gerrit Cole will look to avenge his 2020 struggles with the Rays, as he went 0-1 with a 4.96 ERA with five home runs allowed across 16¹/₃ innings in three starts. In his other nine starts against the rest of the league, Cole went 7-2 with a 2.22 ERA and 1.7 walks allowed per nine innings.

The Rays dominated the Yankees during the regular season, going 8-2 and giving up three runs or fewer in seven of those games. Given Cole’s shaky results facing the Rays and Tampa Bay’s deep bullpen, the Rays, who had the AL’s best record in the regular season, should grab the series opener.

The play: Rays, +130.