Tag: Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Tampa Bay Rays odds predictions pick betting line spread

The Pittsburgh Pirates (20-10) play the middle outing of a 3-game interleague series with the Tampa Bay Rays (24-6) Wednesday at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla. First pitch is scheduled for 6:40 p.m. ET. Let’s analyze BetMGM Sportsbook’s lines around the Pirates vs. Rays odds and make our expert MLB picks and predictions for the best bets.

Season series: Rays lead series 1-0 after going 3-0 in 2022

The Pirates, leading the NL Central Division, suffered the 4-1 setback in the series opener Tuesday. Despite the loss, the Bucs still lead the NL Central by 1½ games over the Milwaukee Brewers.

Pittsburgh lost back-to-back games for the 1st time since April 1-2 in Cincinnati. The Pirates also saw an 8-game cover streak on the run line as an underdog snapped.

The AL East-leading Rays, with the best record in baseball, are 7-2 in the 2nd game of a series this season. Tampa Bay cashed the Under on Tuesday, allowing just the single run, but the Rays are averaging 8.4 runs per game (RPG) across the last 5 outings.

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Pirates at Rays projected starters

RHP Mitch Keller vs. LHP Shane McClanahan

Keller (3-0, 3.53 ERA) makes his 7th start. He has a 1.21 WHIP, 3.0 BB/9 and 10.1 K/9 in 35 2/3 innings.

• Last start: W, 6 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 1 BB, 10 K in 6-2 home win vs. Los Angeles Dodgers Thursday — his 5th straight quality start (QS)
• Road splits this season: 1-0, 4.08 ERA (17 2/3 IP, 8 ER), .239 opponent batting average (OBA) in 3 starts
• Is 1-0 with a 2.08 ERA with 4 BB and 14 K in 13 IP in 2 starts in interleague games this season

McClanahan (5-0, 2.12 ERA) makes his 7th start. He has a 1.09 WHIP, 3.7 BB/9, 11.1 K/9 in 34 IP innings.

• Last start: W, 5 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 5 K in 14-5 road win vs. Chicago White Sox Thursday
• Home splits this season: 2-0, 1.59 ERA (17 IP, 3 ER), .153 opponent batting average (OBA) in 3 starts
• Won his only interleague start April 5 in Washington, allowing 2 ER, 5 H and 4 BB with 6 K across 6 IP

Pirates at Rays odds

Provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 7:03 a.m. ET.

• Moneyline (ML): Pirates +170 (bet $100 to win $170) | Rays -210 (bet $210 to win $100)
• Run line (RL)/Against the spread (ATS): Pirates +1.5 (-125) | Rays -1.5 (+105)
• Over/Under (O/U): 7 (O: -115 | U: -105)

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Pirates at Rays picks and predictions

Prediction

Rays 4, Pirates 2

Moneyline

The Rays (-210) will cost you more than 2 times your potential return, and that’s quite expensive for a standalone play, even though Tampa Bay has been money at home.

PASS, and look to the home line instead.

Run line/Against the spread

RAYS -1.5 (+105) are a much better play on the run line at plus-money.

Tampa Bay cashed as a favorite on the run line in Tuesday’s series opener, and the Rays have covered in 3 of the last 4 as a favorite. After struggling on the run line in late April, the Rays are starting to heat up again as a favorite.

Be careful, however, as the Pirates +1.5 (-125) have cashed in 8 of the last 9 games an an underdog on the run line, although that lone non-cover was in the opener of this series.

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Over/Under

The UNDER 7 (-105) is the play, even though it’s quite a low number.

Both Keller and McClanahan should toss up plenty of donuts, however, like we saw in Tuesday’s interleague series opener.

The Under is 6-1-1 in the last 8 for the Pirates on an artificial surface, while the Under is 4-1-1 in the last 6 at home for the Rays. The Under is 3-1-1 in the last 5 in Game 2 of a series for Tampa Bay, too.

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For more sports betting picks and tips, check out SportsbookWire.com and BetFTW.

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Additional MLB coverage:
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The Pittsburgh Pirates (20-9) open a 3-game interleague series with the Tampa Bay Rays (23-6) Tuesday at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla. First pitch for this matchup involving the top 2 teams in their respective league is scheduled for 6:40 p.m. ET. Let’s analyze BetMGM Sportsbook’s lines around the Pirates vs. Rays odds and make our expert MLB picks and predictions for the best bets.

Season series: First meeting; Rays went 3-0 in 2022 and have won 5 of the last 7 meetings going back to June 2014.

The Pirates surprisingly lead the National League Central Division by 1½ games over the Milwaukee Brewers. The Bucs are 11-5 on the road and lead the NL with a plus-48 run differential, which ranks 3rd in the majors.

Pittsburgh lost 7-2 Sunday at the Washington Nationals, but took 2 of 3 there and are 11-2 in its last 13 games.

The Rays are tops in run differential at plus-103, and they plated an MLB-best 195 runs (through just 29 games) — the Texas Rangers are 2nd at 178 runs.

The Rays also lost on the road Sunday. They fell 12-9 after a 7-run, 9th-inning by the Chicago White Sox, capped by a walk-off 3-run homer. However, Tampa Bay won 3 of 4 in the series.

It’s been feast or famine for the Rays offense lately. They scored 8 or more runs in 4 of the last 7 games but were shut out twice during the span. The Over is 3-1 in the last 4 games.

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Pirates at Rays projected starters

RHP Roansy Contreras vs. RHP Javy Guerra

Contreras (3-1, 3.58 ERA) makes his 6th start. He has a 1.34 WHIP, 3.9 BB/9 and 7.8 K/9 in 27 2/3 innings.

• Last start: W, 6 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 2 BB, 5 K in 8-1 home victory vs. Los Angeles Dodgers Wednesday — his 3rd consecutive quality start (QS)
• Road splits this season: 1-0, 2.31 ERA (11 2/3 IP, 3 ER), .220 opponent batting average (OBA) in 2 starts

Guerra (0-0, 8.64 ERA) makes his Rays 2023 debut after starting the season with Milwaukee. In 8 appearances for the Brewers — all in relief — he posted a 2.28 WHIP with 9.7 BB/9 and 5.4 K/9 rates in 8 1/3 innings.

• Re-acquired from the Brewers Saturday for cash or a player to be named; he made 17 relief appearances for the Rays last season
• 2022 for Rays: 2-1, 3.38 ERA (16 IP, 6 ER), 1.31 WHIP, 4.5 BB/9, 5.1 K/9 in 17 relief appearances — he was with Triple-A Durham most of the season (43 games)
• Expected to work as the opener Tuesday, making his 1st career MLB start after 52 relief appearances since breaking in with the Padres in 2019

Pirates at Rays odds

Provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 1:26 p.m. ET.

• Moneyline (ML): Pirates +145 (bet $100 to win $145) | Rays -175 (bet $175 to win $100)
• Run line (RL)/Against the spread (ATS): Pirates +1.5 (-140) | Rays -1.5 (+115)
• Over/Under (O/U): 8.5 (O: -110 | U: -110)

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Pirates at Rays picks and predictions

Prediction

Rays 4, Pirates 3

Moneyline

The Rays (-175) are a little bit of a risky play as Guerra makes his 1st career start in the majors. He’s projected to serve as the opener with LHP Josh Fleming expected to follow and work a bulk of the innings. Fleming has a 3.26 ERA and 1.29 WHIP in 19 1/3 innings this season.

PASS and look to the run line instead, for a much better value.

Run line/Against the spread

PITTSBURGH +1.5 (-140) is a good play if you’re looking for a little insurance in this interleague series opener, although it will cost the -140 juice.

While the Rays -1.5 (+115) have won 5 of their last 8 games, covering 4 of those outings by 3 or more runs, the Bucs have covered the run line in 8 consecutive games as an underdog, including 6 outright victories.

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Over/Under

The UNDER 8.5 (-110) is the lean in this interleague series opener under the dome in Florida.

The Under is 3-1-1 in the last 5 games at home for the Rays, while going 2-1 in the last 3 interleague contests.

While the Over is 5-1 in the last 6 games for the Pirates, it has split 4-4 in the last 8 games against American League clubs.

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For more sports betting picks and tips, check out SportsbookWire.com and BetFTW.

Follow Kevin J. Erickson on Twitter. Follow SportsbookWire on Twitter and like us on Facebook.

Additional MLB coverage:
BaseballHQ Fantasy Baseball
BaseballPress.com: Your source for every MLB lineup

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