Rays vs. Nationals Prediction
The Tampa Bay Rays have the unenviable task of facing Washington Nationals ace Max Scherzer on the road tonight. Does Tampa Bay stand a chance or will Washington run away with it in the series opener?
Game Snapshot
925 Tampa Bay Rays at 926 Washington Nationals
Tuesday, June 5, 2018
Nationals Park at 7:05PM ET
TV: MASN 2 (WASH)
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Public Betting Information
According to oddsmakers, the Nationals are a -250 favorite to win on the moneyline. The Rays are a +220 underdog, while the total is set at 7 runs. As of Tuesday morning, 85 percent of public bets are pouring in on host Washington. Check out our MLB Public Betting Page for up-to-date information.
Rays drop last four on West Coast swing
Tampa Bay started its West Coast trip red-hot, winning three in a row at Oakland to move its winning streak to five games. But the Rays lost the series finale at the Athletics, then proceeded to get swept in a three-game series at Seattle with Sunday’s game ending in a 2-1 final. Tampa Bay led 1-0 after an RBI double from Brad Miller in the fourth inning and it held up until the eighth inning, when the Mariners plated two runs. Miller also drew a walk to go with the run-scoring double. Daniel Robertson finished 2-for-4 and scored the lone run. Blake Snell had a phenomenal start wasted as he gave up no runs on two hits with 12 strikeouts over six innings. Jose Alvarado gave up two runs (one earned) on two hits with three strikeouts and a walk in one inning of work.
Nationals stay in second place
Washington had a chance over the weekend to move into first place in the NL East, but instead dropped three of four at Atlanta. The Nationals won Saturday to end a two-game skid, but proceeded to lose Sunday’s finale by a count of 4-2. The score was tied at 2-2 before Braves pinch-hitter Charlie Culberson ended it in the bottom of the ninth with a walk-off two-run homer. Trea Turner accounted for the only two Nats runs as he hit a two-run homer in the third inning that staked his squad to a 2-1 advantage. Washington continued to lead until Atlanta tied it in the bottom of the seventh.
Tampa Bay will turn to Nathan Eovaldi (1-0, 0.00 ERA) today, while Scherzer (9-1, 1.92) takes the hill for Washington.
MLB Betting Trends
Tampa Bay
The under is 7-1-1 in the last seven Rays games. Tampa Bay is 3-7 in its last 10 Tuesday games.
Washington
The under is 8-0 in the last eight Washington interleague home games. The under is 13-3 in the last 17 Nationals interleague games.
Prediction: The Rays have a very underwhelming offense and they are going up against the best pitcher on the planet. Good luck. While the total is set low because of Scherzer, Washington should be able to get to Eovaldi some in just his second start back from arm surgery. While Eovaldi was awesome in his first start, don’t expect a repeat performance. I’m going with the runline bet here.
MLB DAILY PREDICTION: WASHINGTON NATIONALS RL -120