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The Los Angeles Angels (69-83) and Tampa Bay Rays (93-60) meet Thursday in the finale of a 3-game series. First pitch from Tropicana Field is set for 1:10 p.m. ET (ESPN+). Let’s analyze BetMGM Sportsbook’s lines around the Angels vs. Rays odds and make our expert MLB picks and predictions for the best bets.
Season series: Rays lead 3-2
Los Angeles won 8-3 Wednesday to even the series and end a 6-game skid in which they had been outscored 38-13. The Angels are 4th in the AL West and have long been eliminated from playoff contention.
With Wednesday’s loss the Rays are 2 1/2 games behind the Baltimore Orioles for 1st place in the AL East. Both teams have already clinched a playoff spot. The Rays play the Toronto Blue Jays, who are battling for a Wild Card spot, in 6 of its final 8 games, starting with a weekend series in Tampa.
Angels at Rays projected starters
RHP Griffin Canning vs. RHP Zach Eflin
Canning (7-7, 4.42 ERA) makes his 21st start (23rd appearance). He has a 1.24 WHIP, 2.4 BB/9 and 9.9 K/9 in 116 innings.
- Last outing: Loss, 6 IP, 4 ER, 8 H, 1 BB, 7 K in an 11-2 home loss Friday vs. Detroit Tigers
- Career vs. Tampa Bay: 1-1, 4.40 ERA (14 1/3 IP, 7 ER), 14 H, 3 BB, 16 K in 3 appearances (2 starts)
Eflin (15-8, 3.44 ERA) makes his 30th start. He has a 1.01 WHIP, 1.2 BB/9 and 9.2 K/9 in 167 2/3 innings.
- Last outing: Win, 7 IP, 1 ER, 1 H, 0 BB, 8 K in a 7-1 road win Friday vs. Baltimore Orioles
- Career vs. Los Angeles: 2-0, 0.64 ERA (14 IP, 1 ER), 9 H, 2 BB, 10 K in 2 starts
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Angels at Rays odds
Provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated Wednesday at 11:11 p.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): Angels +200 (bet $100 to win $200) | Rays -250 (bet $250 to win $100)
- Run line (RL)/Against the spread (ATS): Angels +1.5 (-105) | Rays -1.5 (-115)
- Over/Under (O/U): 7.5 (O: -115 | U: -105)
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Angels at Rays picks and predictions
Prediction
Tampa Bay 6, Los Angeles 3
Moneyline
PASS.
I like Tampa Bay to win here but as a -250 favorite the line is not worth the risk. Bet on the run line and/or total instead.
Run line/Against the spread
LEAN RAYS -1.5 (-115).
The Rays are 6-4 in their last 10 and 8-2 in their last 10 matchups with Los Angeles. Tampa Bay has also been dominant at home (51-26) while the Angels have struggled on the road (34-43). Tampa Bay is also 4-1 in Eflin’s last 5 starts while Los Angeles is 1-4 Canning’s last 5 starts.
Over/Under
BET OVER 7.5 (-115).
The Over is 6-2-2 in the last 10 matchups and 5-4-1 in Tampa’s last 10 overall. The Over is also 3-2 in Canning’s last 5 starts and hit in his last start vs. Tampa Bay. Similarly, the Over is 3-2 in Eflin’s last 5 starts and hit in his only 2 career starts vs. Los Angeles.
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