The Tampa Bay Rays will play the Oakland Athletics at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. The game gets underway 10:05 p.m. ET and NBC Sports – California is in line to broadcast this AL showdown.
Tampa Bay Rays at Oakland Athletics Odds
Oakland (-170) is favored over Tampa Bay (+160) and oddsmakers have set the Over/Under for this night game at 8 runs. Odds for betting on the games total sit at -120 for the over and +100 for the under. Gamblers can also bet on the games runline with the odds standing at -135 for the Rays +1.5 runs and +115 for the Athletics -1.5.
The Athletics are 28-27 SU and 25-29 ATS. They’ve gained 4.0 units for moneyline bettors while earning 6.3 units against the spread (ATS). Oakland has covered the spread only twice in its last seven games and the under has hit in six of those seven. The Rays have gone 27-26 SU this year and are 27-25 ATS. Overall, the teams accumulated 0.4 units for gamblers taking the moneyline and 1.7 units ATS. Tampa Bay has covered the spread four times in its last seven games and the under has hit in five of those seven.
Neither side has been an obvious over/under bet this year. Athletics games have an over/under record of 25-26-3 so far in 2018. Tampa Bay has an over/under record of 25-25-2.
Nathan Eovaldi will get the start for the visiting Rays. The right-handed Eovaldi is 0-0 with an ERA. He has yet to face the Athletics this year and did not record a start against them in 2017, either.
The Athletics are putting the ball in the left hand of Sean Manaea (5-5, 3.34 ERA, 0.96 WHIP), who has 53 strikeouts and 13 walks. Manaea only made one start against the Rays in 2017 (1-0, 2.57 ERA and five strikeouts across seven innings).
Oakland’s pitchers have allowed 4.4 runs per game overall in 2018 as a unit. The club’s starters have an ERA of 4.22, a WHIP of 1.18 and a strikeouts-per-nine of 7.1. The bullpen has a 3.54 ERA, 1.36 WHIP and 8.2 K/9.
The Oakland offense has put up 4.3 runs per outing, including 2.9 per game over its last 10 games and 1.8 per game over its last five. The team has a slash-line of .173/.240/.310 over its last five contests and is 2-3 SU during that stretch.
The Athletics batters have been led by second baseman Jed Lowrie and shortstop Marcus Semien. Lowrie is slashing .307/.371/.509 with nine home runs, 39 RBIs and 20 runs scored, and Semien’s line is .268/.320/.383 with five homers, 24 RBIs and 35 runs scored.
In the visiting dugout, Tampa Bay’s pitchers have allowed 4.3 runs per game and its starting pitchers own a 4.06 ERA, 1.21 WHIP and 8.48 K/9. The bullpen has managed an ERA of 3.92, along with a WHIP of 1.21.
Rays hitters have slashed .262/.336/.403 on their way to 4.2 runs scored per game in 2018, including 3.4 runs per game over the teams last 10 games and 3.6 per game over the teams last five contests (4-1 SU).
Tampa Bay’s offensive production been powered by first baseman C.J. Cron and catcher Wilson Ramos, who’ve collectively blasted 19 home runs. Cron is slashing .268/.326/.483 with 12 home runs, 31 RBIs and 30 runs scored, while Ramos (.308/.349/.478) has produced seven homers, 26 RBIs and 16 runs scored.
Putting up a slash line of .244/.261/.600 across 46 such plate appearances, Cron seemed to enjoy hitting lefties on the road last season (compared to his overall season slash line of .248/.305/.437).
The Rays have gained 2.1 units and are 11-7 ATS when facing a left-handed starting pitcher this season. The over has hit in seven of those games, compared to 10 that’ve gone under in such games. On the other hand, the Athletics have netted 5.5 units and are 16-19 ATS when facing a righty starter. The over has cashed in 18 of those games, compared to 16 that went under.
Tampa Bay Rays at Oakland Athletics Free MLB Tip
Predictions: SU Winner – Athletics, ATS Winner – Rays, O/U – UNDER
Betting Notes
- Tampa Bay has recorded 19.0 Runs + Hits + Errors per game over its last 10 outings and 21.6 over its last five.
- The Rays have hit nine home runs in their last 10 games, including six over their last five.
