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The Tampa Bay Rays take on the Arizona Diamondbacks. Our MLB odds series has our Rays Diamondbacks prediction and pick. Find out how to watch Rays Diamondbacks.
Imagine anyone telling you in late March or early April that this series in late June would be a very realistic World Series preview. The Rays being in the World Series? Sure. Tampa Bay has been an elite team in Major League Baseball over the past several seasons, due to a proven ability to develop talent — especially pitchers — and fit various roster pieces together. The Rays lose out on big-dollar players but are regularly able to find cheap replacements and develop them into stars.
The Arizona Diamondbacks, however, were nowhere near any conversations about the National League pennant or any deep run in the playoffs in 2023. Yes, an exciting young core of players was going to make Arizona better, but Arizona didn't even win 75 games last season. The realistic hope in Phoenix was that the D-Backs would win something in the area of 85 games, make a push for one of the final wild card spots, and then gear up in 2024 for a genuine championship push. As June winds down, it's clear that the D-Backs are a full year ahead of schedule. They're in position to make a championship run right now. They still lead the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League West. They are 16 games over .500 through 80 games, on a 96- or 97-win pace. Everyone keeps waiting for a prolonged slump to hit this team, but it just isn't happening. Arizona lost two games over the weekend to the Giants in San Francisco, but the Diamondbacks won on Sunday and then beat the Rays on Tuesday in the first game of this midweek series in Phoenix.
Arizona's Corbin Carroll is the runaway favorite as the National League Rookie of the Year. His energy, baserunning, defense, and his bat have significantly improved the Diamondbacks' offense, which has been consistently productive. That offense scored five runs in the first inning against the Rays on Tuesday. Let's see what happens on Wednesday in the second game of this series.
Here are the Rays-Diamondbacks MLB odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
MLB Odds: Rays-Diamondbacks Odds
Tampa Bay Rays: -1.5 (+102)
Arizona Diamondbacks: +1.5 (-122)
Over: 9.5 (-105)
Under: 9.5 (-115)
How To Watch Rays vs. Diamondbacks
TV: Bally Sports Florida (Rays) / Bally Sports Arizona (Diamondbacks) / MLB Extra Innings
Stream: MLB.tv
Time: 9:40 p.m. ET/6:40 p.m. PT
*Watch Rays-Diamondbacks LIVE on fuboTV (click for a free trial)*
Why The Rays Could Cover The Spread
The Diamondbacks send starter Zach Davies to the mound. Davies is a decent, competent, capable big-league pitcher, but he isn't Zac Gallen or Merrill Kelly, the Diamondbacks' two best starters. The Rays scored four runs against Gallen on Tuesday night. They should be able to score more than four against Davies. If they do score more than four, their pitching — which has admittedly been up and down in recent weeks — should still be good enough to win the game. The Rays do cultivate pitchers extremely well, and Zach Eflin is a case in point. He came from the Philadelphia Phillies and has been even better with the Rays. He has pitched to a high standard this season and should be able to give Tampa Bay what it needs in this game.
Why The Diamondbacks Could Cover The Spread
The Diamondbacks just aren't faltering. It's not happening. The skeptics are running out of arguments to wield against this team, and against the notion that Arizona is for real. What more does this team need to prove? It's on a 96-win pace. It hammered Tampa Bay's pitching staff for eight runs on Tuesday night. The D-Backs continue to show that they can win slugfests just as well as they can win pitching duels. They are getting contributions from a lot of different sources in their lineup. They're a well-rounded team which is simply tough to beat.
Meanwhile, the Rays are 8-9 in their last 17 games. They seem mentally tired and ready for the All-Star break, but that break is still a week and a half away.
Final Rays-Diamondbacks Prediction & Pick
The Diamondbacks are for real, but the Rays — after getting shelled on Tuesday — are likely to bounce back on Wednesday.
Final Rays-Diamondbacks Prediction & Pick: Rays -1.5
