[gambcom-standard rankid=”3011″ ]
The Tampa Bay Rays (28-29) and Baltimore Orioles (35-19) open a 3-game series Friday. First pitch from Oriole Park at Camden Yards is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. ET. Let’s analyze FanDuel Sportsbook’s lines around the Rays vs. Orioles odds and make our expert MLB picks and predictions for the best bets.
Season series: First meeting; Baltimore won 8-5 in 2023
Tampa Bay outlasted the Oakland A’s 6-5 in 12 innings at Tropicana Field Thursday afternoon. The Rays have won 3 of 4 and have certainly endured an up-and-down 2nd half of the month. Tampa began a 4-game division win streak May 15 with 2 victories over both the Toronto Blue Jays and Boston Red Sox but followed that up by dropping 5 straight.
Since seeing their sweepless series streak snapped by the St. Louis Cardinals, the Orioles have rattled off wins in 6 of their last 7 games. Entering Friday, SS Gunnar Henderson is tied with New York Yankees CF Aaron Judge and Houston Astros RF Kyle Tucker for the most HRs in MLB with 18.
Rays at Orioles projected starters
RHP Aaron Civale vs. RHP Albert Suarez
Civale (2-4, 5.72 ERA) makes his 12th start. He has a 1.34 WHIP, 2.7 BB/9 and 9.1 K/9 in 56 2/3 IP.
- Last start: No-decision, 5 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, 1 BB, 5 K in 7-4 home loss in 11 innings to Kansas City Royals Saturday
- Only 3 pitchers out of 102 with at least 50 IP have a higher home-run-to-fly-ball (HR/FB) percentage than Civale (16.9%)
Suarez (4-2, 2.60 ERA) makes his 5th start and 12th appearance. He has a 0.95 WHIP, 2.5 BB/9 and 7.4 K/9 in 29 1/3 IP.
- Last start: No-decision, 4 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 2 BB, 3 K in 5-3 win at Chicago White Sox Saturday
- Has surrendered just 1 HR this season (0 in 14 IP in May)
Win your fantasy baseball league with BaseballHQ.com. For decades, BHQ has been helping players just like you win! BHQ offers Draft Prep and full-season subscriptions. Sign up today and start winning!
Rays at Orioles odds
Provided by FanDuel Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 1:20 p.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): Rays +120 (bet $100 to win $116) | Orioles -142 (bet $142 to win $100)
- Run line (RL)/Against the spread (ATS): Rays +1.5 (-164) | Orioles -1.5 (+136)
- Over/Under (O/U): 8 (O: -115| U: -105)
[gambcom-standard rankid=”3012″ ]
Rays at Orioles picks and predictions
Prediction
Baltimore 6, Tampa Bay 3
Moneyline
BET ORIOLES (-136).
Henderson blasted a grand slam in Wednesday’s game vs. Boston and possesses the highest HR/FB percentage vs. RHP (37.8%) out of 179 qualified hitters. Expect the MVP contender (+500 at FanDuel Sportsbook) to deliver against a homer-prone starter and Rays bullpen that sports the 4th-highest team ERA (4.37) in the AL.
Run line/Against the spread
SPRINKLE ORIOLES -1.5 (+136).
Baltimore LF Colton Cowser, who is a contender for AL Rookie of the Year (+750 at FanDuel Sportsbook), has crossed the plate at least once in 4 straight games. Henderson and Cowser, along with C Adley Rutschman and 3B Jordan Westburg, make up an outstanding young Orioles core that is consistently delivering, as are the veterans of the Orioles lineup. Orioles 1B Ryan Mountcastle and RF Anthony Santander have each reached base in 7 or more straight games, and 1B Ryan O’Hearn has the 2nd-highest OBP vs. RHP on Baltimore (.359), behind only Westburg (.373).
Only the White Sox have hit fewer HRs (39) in the AL than the Rays (45). With the left-field wall pushed backed at Oriole Park, it’s tough to expect any Rays hitters to keep their team in it by going deep.
Over/Under
PASS.
I lean Over but am going to pass with how inept Tampa Bay’s offense has been overall this season.
Play our free daily Pick’em Challenge and win! Play now!
[gambcom-standard rankid=”5″ ]
For more sports betting picks and tips, check out SportsbookWire.com and BetFTW.
Follow @TheBigCheeShow on Twitter/X. Follow SportsbookWire on Twitter/X and like us on Facebook.
Additional MLB coverage:
BaseballHQ Fantasy Baseball
[lawrence-newsletter]
[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1372]