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The Oakland A’s (23-34) and Tampa Bay Rays (27-29) wrap up a 3-game series Thursday at Tropicana Field. First pitch is scheduled for 1:10 p.m. ET (MLB Network). Let’s analyze FanDuel Sportsbook’s lines around the A’s vs. Rays odds and make our expert MLB picks and predictions for the best bets.
Season series: Tied 1-1
After losing 4-3 to the Rays on Wednesday, the A’s have alternated losses and wins in the past 9 games since May 19. The Under has cashed in 4 consecutive games.
Oakland has dropped 9 of the past 10 games on the road, while cashing the Under at a 4-0-1 clip in the past 5 outings away from home.
The Rays has won 2 of the past 3 games after halting a 5-game losing skid on Sunday. The total has gone low in each of the past 3 games, while cashing at a 6-2 clip across the previous 8 outings.
A’s at Rays projected starters
LHP Kyle Muller vs. RHP Shawn Armstrong
Muller (0-1, 3.48 ERA) makes his 1st start and 14th appearance. He has a 1.19 WHIP, 1.9 BB/9 and 6.4 K/9 in 33 2/3 IP.
- Last start: No-decision, 4 IP, 3 ER, 5 H, 1 HR, 1 BB, 3 K in 10-6 home win vs. Los Angeles Angels on Sept. 3, 2023 (78 pitches)
- 2024 road splits: 0-0, 3.95 ERA (13 2/3 IP, 6 ER), 1.24 WHIP, .286 opponents’ batting average (OBA), 4 HR, 1 BB, 8 K in 6 relief appearances
Armstrong (1-1, 3.91 ERA, 1 SV) makes his 5th start and 21st appearance. He has a 1.22 WHIP, 3.2 BB/9 and 10.7 K/9 in 25 1/3 IP.
- Last start: No-decision, 2 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 3 K in 8-1 home loss vs. Kansas City Royals last Friday
- 2024 home splits: 1-1, 4.91 ERA (18 1/3 IP, 10 ER), 1.31 WHIP, .254 OBA, 3 HR, 6 BB, 21 K in 4 starts and 10 relief appearances
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A’s at Rays odds
Provided by FanDuel Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 6:31 a.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): A’s +122 (bet $100 to win $122) | Rays -144 (bet $144 to win $100)
- Run line (RL)/Against the spread (ATS): A’s +1.5 (-182) | Rays -1.5 (+150)
- Over/Under (O/U): 8 (O: -122 | U: +100)
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A’s at Rays picks and predictions
Prediction
Rays 4, Athletics 3
Moneyline
The RAYS (-144) are a strong play behind Armstrong in the series finale.
The Athletics (+122) won the series opener in a shutout, but they’re still just 1-9 across the past 10 games on the road. Oakland has a pitching quandary, and it is forced to use Muller as an opener. That isn’t exactly a terrible thing, as the Oakland bullpen has been surprisingly good with a 3.43 ERA, 6th-best in the majors, according to covers.com. However, the ‘pen coughed up 3 runs in just 3 1/3 IP on Wednesday.
Look to Tampa to get the job done on getaway day.
Run line/Against the spread
The Athletics +1.5 (-182) will cost you nearly 2 times your potential return, if you would rather trust Oakland and its bullpen to keep things close in the finale. However, that’s quite a bit of risk with too little reward.
PASS, and look to the moneyline instead.
Over/Under
UNDER 8 (+100) is the lean in this daytime battle in St. Pete.
The Under has cashed in each of the 1st 2 games in this series, with an average of 5.0 combined runs per game in the 2 outings.
The A’s have gone low at a 6-1-1 clip in the past 8 games on the road, while the Rays are 5-2 to the Under in the past 7 on their home turf.
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