Tampa Bay Rays vs. Baltimore Orioles, 5/3/2019 Predictions & Odds

Rays vs. Orioles Friday Prediction

The Rays are a big money line favorite for their Game 1 matchup against the Orioles at Camden Yards on Friday night at 7:05 p.m. ET. Will Tampa Bay come through for bettors willing to trust the Rays on the run line?

Game Snapshot & Odds

915 Tampa Bay Rays (-220) at 916 Baltimore Orioles (+200); 9.5 runs

Friday, May 3, 2019

7:05 p.m. ET, Oriole Park at Camden Yards, Baltimore, MD

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Public Betting Trends

According to our MLB Public Betting Chart page, 74% of the betting tickets are on the Rays to beat the Orioles on the money line.

Tampa Bay Rays Fantasy Spin

Brandon Lowe went 2-for-4 and hit a go-ahead homer in the top of the ninth as the Rays beat the Royals 3-1 on Thursday. The homer came off Wily Peralta. Lowe was making just his third start this year against a left-handed starter, and he ended up 1-for-2 against Danny Duffy. With Joey Wendle out for quite a while, Lowe could be a full-time player for the foreseeable future.

Baltimore Orioles Fantasy Spin

Stevie Wilkerson went 2-for-4 with a three-run homer in the Orioles' loss to the White Sox on Wednesday. Wilkerson took Ivan Nova deep in the fourth inning to give Baltimore a 4-2 lead. It's the second homer of the season since he was called up from Triple-A Norfolk. The 27-year-old won't play enough -- or hit enough if he does play enough -- to offer any sort of fantasy relevance.

MLB Betting Trends

Tampa Bay

The Rays are 6-1 in their last seven games versus the Orioles but are just 1-4 in their last five games played at Camden Yards.

Baltimore

The Orioles are just 17-38 in their last 55 home games when facing a right-handed starter.

Prediction:

The Rays didn’t score more than three runs in their final three games in their series against the Royals but if ever there were a time to break out, it’s tonight. Baltimore starter Dan Straily has been every bit as bad as his numbers would indicate. He owns an xFIP of 6.79, which is horrendous, and is striking out batters at only a 10.3% clip, which is low. He’s also giving up a ton of hard contact (40.8%) and has not kept the ball on the ground (32.4%). Meanwhile, Tampa starter Tyler Glasnow has been the exact opposite of Straily, striking out batters at 27.7% clip and walking batters at a low 5.1% rate. Finally, while the Rays currently have a top-12 bullpen, the Orioles’ pen is one of the worst in the league. I like the Rays in all facets tonight.

The Pick: Tampa Bay Rays -1.5 (-140)