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The Tampa Bay Rays will begin a four-game series with the Baltimore Orioles as the AL East rivals meet at Camden Yards at Oriole Park. It's time to continue our MLB odds coverage with a Rays-Orioles prediction and pick.
The Rays are coming off a series where they lost two of three games to the Kansas City Royals. Now, they travel to Baltimore, hoping to put some space between themselves and their rivals. The Rays are 53-43, third in the AL East and 13 games behind the New York Yankees. Additionally, they are 12-8 in July and 7-3 over their past 10 games.
The Orioles lost two of three to the Yankees at Camden Yards. Subsequently, it dropped its mark to 47-48 and 18 games out of first. The Orioles are 12-6 in July and 6-4 over their last 10 games. Currently, the Rays lead the season series 7-5 but have lost both series played at Camden Yards.
Corey Kluber takes the mound for the Rays today. Kluber is 6-5 with a 3.73 ERA. Additionally, he is 3-1 with a 4.71 ERA over four starts. He tossed six innings in his last start, allowing four earned runs on eight hits. The start happened to occur against the Orioles, his opponent for today. Overall, Kluber is 1-1 with a 3.66 ERA in four starts against the Orioles in 2022.
Austin Voth takes the mound for the Rays. Voth is 1-1 with a 6.38 ERA. Recently, he is 1-0 with a 3.86 ERA over three appearances (two starts) in July. Voth's last appearance was on July 11, where he went 2 1/3 innings while not allowing a run. Additionally, he has faced the Rays twice in his career, not allowing a run over five innings.
Here are the Rays-Orioles MLB odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
MLB Odds: Rays-Orioles Odds
Tampa Bay Rays: -1.5 (+128)
Baltimore Orioles: +1.5 (-154)
Over: 8.5 (-120)
Under: 8.5 (-102)
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Why The Rays Could Cover The Spread
The Rays do not have much offense. However, they do have three core hitters that can hurt opposing pitchers when given the chance.
Randy Arozarena is batting .347 (17 for 49( with four home runs, seven RBIs, and five runs against the Orioles in 2022. Likewise, he is even better at Camden Yards, where he is batting .400 (10 for 25) with two home runs, four RBIs, and three runs in 2022. Yandy Diaz has struggled against the birds, batting .212 (7 for 33) with one RBI and six runs. Alternatively, he is much better at Camden Yards, where he is batting .300 (6 for 20) with one RBI and four runs over five games in Baltimore. J-Man Choi is batting .282 (11 for 39) with one home run, six RBIs, and five runs against the Orioles. Also, he is batting .292 (7 for 24) with one home run, four RBIs, and three runs at Camden Yards.
The Rays will cover the spread if they get a great pitching outing out of Kluber. He has to have his best stuff against an emerging Baltimore lineup that is not the pushover it once was. Ultimately, the Rays must garner some offense to support Kluber and make it easier for the bullpen later in the game. The key to victory is scoring early.
Why The Orioles Could Cover The Spread
The Orioles have stayed competitive this season mainly with decent pitching. Conversely, they do have two sluggers that can carry the load at any given moment. One is a rookie and the other is a veteran.
Adley Rutschman has enjoyed modest success against the Rays, as he is batting .304 (7 for 23) with one home run, four RBIs, and two runs. However, he has struggled in limited appearances against Kluber, going 1 for 7 against the former Cy-Young winner. Trey Mancini is batting .244 (11 for 45) with one home run, three RBIs, and two runs against the Rays. Likewise, he has struggled against Kluber, going 2 for 14 with one RBI.
The Orioles will cover the spread if Voth can give them a quality start. The Rays are the perfect team for a young pitcher to face because they do not have many power threats that can destroy an opposing pitcher. Ultimately, it will also come down to whether the Orioles can take command of the game. They fell behind in all three games against the Yankees and had to mount a comeback on Saturday to prevent a sweep. Thus, the O's need to find a way to score early and often to prevent themselves from falling into similar holes.
Final Rays-Orioles Prediction & Pick
The Orioles are 4-2 against the Rays at home this year. Additionally, they covered two of the three games when the teams met last week in Tampa. Expect much of the same, as the Orioles keep themselves in the game behind the power of their crowd.
Final Rays-Orioles Prediction & Pick: Baltimore Orioles: +1.5 (-154)