Oakland and Tampa Bay wrap up a four-game series at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida, and we’re breaking down their American League encounter to find out the best Athletics vs Rays betting pick for Thursday afternoon. The Athletics trounced the Rays 13-2 in the opener as +195 road underdogs, while Tampa bounced back with a 9-8 victory in Game 2, satisfying -210 moneyline odds.
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Athletics vs Rays FanDuel Betting Pick
This game will be played at Tropicana Field at 1:10 PM ET on Thursday, April 14, 2022.
Why Bet The Rays:
✅ Through their first five games of the new season, the Rays have scored 26 runs on 48 hits and 20 walks. Their offense owns the third-best OPS in the majors (.808), and the Rays are slashing .284/.352/.456. Wander Franco is killing it at the plate (11-of-20 for four RBIs); Ji-Man Choi is 8-for-13 with five RBIs, while Brandon Lowe has smacked a couple of home runs thus far.
✅ Cole Irvin will take the hill for the A’s, and the 28-year-old lefty yielded four earned runs on seven hits and a walk in his first start in 2022. Oakland lost 4-2 at Philadelphia, as Irvin surrendered three home runs to the Phillies. The Athletics’ bullpen owns a 4.09 ERA and walks 5.32 per nine innings, so they could be in trouble against the red-hot Rays lineup.
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✅ The Rays’ bullpen needs to pick up the pieces and start performing at a high level. Chris Mazza allowed six earned runs across just three innings of work in that heavy 13-2 loss to the A’s, while Ralph Garza gave up three earned runs through three frames in a 9-8 victory over Oakland. The Rays have some very talented relievers on their roster, and they should improve in future days. After a couple of poor displays in this series, I’m looking for a bounce-back performance.
Oakland Athletics
The Athletics fell to 2-3 on the season following a 9-8 loss at Tropicana Field last Tuesday. They blew an early 3-0 lead and rallied from a 7-4 deficit, but the Rays prevailed over the A’s in ten innings.
Adam Oller made his MLB debut, surrendering five earned runs on five hits and three walks. He couldn’t get out of the second frame, so the A’s were forced to use seven relievers. Lou Trivino entered in the bottom of the tenth and allowed a game-ending single to Manuel Margot.
Tampa Bay Rays
The Rays barely outlasted the Athletics last Tuesday despite recording 17 total bases more than their opponents (29-12). Ji-Man Choi went 3-for-3 with a walk and smacked a three-run homer in the bottom of the second, while Brandon Lowe hit a solo home run in the first.
Tommy Romero got his first major-league starting call on Tuesday. The 24-year-old right-hander struggled mightily, yielding three earned runs on a couple of hits and a whopping five walks in 1.2 frames of work.