The Tampa Bay Rays (50-22) continue their 7-game road trip with 3 games against the San Diego Padres (33-35). First pitch in Friday’s opener from Petco Park is 9:40 p.m. ET. Let’s analyze BetMGM Sportsbook’s lines around the Rays v s. Padres odds and make our expert MLB picks and predictions for the best bets.
Season series: First meeting since 2019 when Rays won 2 of 3 games
The Rays split a 4-game series to open their road trip against the Oakland A’s. They won the final 2 games of the series to gain the series split. They have won 10 of their last 13 games.
The Padres have won 5 of their last 7 games and, while coming off an 8-6 loss to the Cleveland Guardians Thursday at home, they won the series 2-1.
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Rays at Padres projected starters
LHP Shane McClanahan vs. RHP Yu Darvish
McClanahan (10-1, 2.18 ERA) makes his 15th start. He has a 1.11 WHIP, 3.3 BB/9 and 10.0 K/9 in 82 2/3 innings.
- Last start: Win, 7 IP, 3 ER, 4 H, 1 BB, 5 K in 7-3 home win over Texas Rangers on Sunday
- Has had quality starts (6+ IP, 3 or fewer ER) in 10 of 14 outings
Darvish (5-4, 4.30 ERA) makes his 13th start. He has a 1.16 WHIP, 2.9 BB/9 and 9.7 K/9 in 69 innings.
- Last start: Win, 5 1/3 IP, 4 ER, 5 H, 4 BB, 6 K in 9-6 road win over Colorado Rockies
- Is 3-2 with 6.15 ERA over last 5 starts (28 1/3 IP)
Rays at Padres odds
Provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 10:50 a.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): Rays -110 (bet $110 to win $100) | Padres -110 (bet $110 to win $100)
- Run line (RL)/Against the spread (ATS): Rays -1.5 (+150) | Padres +1.5 (-185)
- Over/Under (O/U): 8 (O: -105 | U: -115)
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Rays at Padres picks and predictions
Prediction
Rays 6, Padres 3
Moneyline
The Rays have the best record in all of baseball and have won 10 of their last 13. They are 19-15 on the road while the Padres are 17-19 at home.
McClanahan leads the majors in wins and ERA and Tampa has lost only twice this season when he has started.
Betting the Rays to win at -110 is a fine bet. But there is more money to be made on the run line and also plenty of reasons to bet that.
PASS.
Run line/Against the spread
The Rays are 40-22 ATS on the season, while the Padres are 34-34 ATS. Eight of their last 10 wins have been by at least 2 runs. Ten of their 12 wins with McClanahan on the mound have been by 2 or more runs.
BET RAYS -1.5 (+150).
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Over/Under
Four of the Rays’ last 7 games have had 9 or more total runs. Eight of McClanahan’s 14 starts have had totals of 9 or more runs. Five of the Padres’ last 7 games have had 9 or more total runs.
BET OVER 8 (-105).
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