Rays vs. Athletics Pick
Can the Tampa Bay Rays complete a sweep of the Oakland Athletics on the road when the two conclude their series today at 3:35PM ET?
According to oddsmakers at Bovada.lv, the Athletics are favored at home, as they are getting odds of -115 to win, while the Rays are getting a money line of +105 to win. The over/under total for the game has been set at 8 runs.
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The pitching matchup has Sonny Gray (5-4, 3.72 ERA) on the mound for Oakland to face Jacob Faria (4-0, 2.00) of the Rays. Faria has been great in his seven starts this year, allowing just 10 earned runs over 45 innings. Faria also has 41 strikeouts with 11 walks and a 0.98 WHIP. Gray struggled early this season, but has had four great starts in a row, allowing just four earned runs over 27 innings. This season, Gray has 79 strikeouts with 26 walks and a 1.16 WHIP.
Tampa Bay has now won five of six meetings with Oakland this year after taking the first two games in this series. The Rays picked up a 4-3 win on Tuesday after earning a 3-2 win on Monday. Tampa Bay is now 51-44 overall and 24-25 on the road while Oakland is 45-52 overall and 27-23 at home.
Tuesday’s game saw the Rays score two runs in the top of the ninth inning, as Santiago Casilla blew his fifth save of 2017. Blake Snell lasted just four innings for the Rays, allowing all three runs, but his bullpen came up with five scoreless innings. Alex Colome earned his 28th save of the season in the ninth. Tampa was led by Steven Souza Jr., who had his 20th home run of the season. Adeiny Hechavarria added two hits and drove in one of the runs in the ninth. Oakland was led by Khris Davis, who hit his 27th home run of 2017 and drove in two runs.
Today’s game features two pitchers that are on a roll. Gray has looked like an ace again while Faria has consistently kept opponents from scoring. While I think Gray can continue to shine, I think he will be even-up with Faria. The bullpen of Tampa seems ready to lock in while Oakland’s has struggled. The Rays seem to be on a spark, especially against Oakland, and I am going to take my chances on them remaining hot.
MLB DAILY PREDICTION: TAMPA BAY RAYS +105