Game time: 7:10 p.m. ET
Venue: Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, FL
Where to watch: MASN, Bally Sports Sun
Season-to-date
Orioles: 38-78 (Last place, AL East)
Rays: 71-47 (1st place, AL East)
Recent form
Orioles: Lost 11 straight
Rays: Won seven of 10
Projected lineup
Orioles:
Austin Hays (R) RF
Trey Mancini (R) 1B
Pedro Severino (R) DH
Anthony Santander (S) LF
Ryan McKenna (R) CF
Maikel Franco (R) 3B
Jorge Mateo (R) 2B
Richie Martin (R) SS
Austin Wynns (R) C
Rays:
Brandon Lowe (L) 2B
Austin Meadows (L) LF
Nelson Cruz (R) DH
Ji-Man Choi (L) 1B
Wander Franco (S) SS
Randy Arozarena (R) RF
Joey Wendle (L) 3B
Kevin Kiermaier (L) CF
Francisco Mejia (S) C
Projected starting pitcher: Matt Harvey (BAL) vs. Ryan Yarbrough (TB)
Odds at USA Sportsbooks
DraftKings: Rays -235, Orioles +190; Over 8 -125, Under +105
BetMGM: Rays -225, Orioles +180
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Orioles - Rays preview
The Tampa Bay Rays will look to increase their lead in the American League East division when they begin the first game of a four-game home series against the Baltimore Orioles at Tropicana Field starting Monday night.
Entering Sunday, the Rays hold a four-game lead on the Boston Red Sox for the top spot in the division, followed by the New York Yankees at 6.5 games. Tampa Bay plays the series finale in their three-game road set against the Minnesota Twins; the Rays won 10-4 on Friday but were shut out 12-0 on Saturday.
It was a rare off day for the Rays’ bats, who entered Saturday scoring 66 runs in their previous seven games. Rays starter Michael Wacha allowed seven runs in five innings, with four coming in the first. In three August starts, Wacha has allowed 18 runs in 14 innings, an ERA of 11.57.
“I’ve never, myself personally, been through a stretch like this,” Wacha said,
per MLB.com. “But you won’t ever see any quit out of me. Always working to get better. I believe that I’m a much better pitcher than what I’ve been showing these last few starts.”
The dropoff was coming, but likely not in this fashion. The Rays only had three hits on Saturday and seemed to be defeated once the bottom of the first wrapped up. The top five batters combined to go 0-for-16. Tampa did get on the board Sunday, but lost in walk-off fashion 5-4 to Minnesota on Sunday.
But don’t expect that dip to continue, especially against a horrid Orioles pitching staff. During Baltimore’s 10-game losing streak, the Orioles have given up double digit runs in half of those contests. When the Rays and Orioles met for a three-game set at Oriole Park in Camden Yards from Aug. 6-8, Tampa Bay outscored Baltimore 31-15.
It’s been as rough of an August as it can be for the Orioles, wrapping up a three-game series against the Red Sox on Sunday. In the first two games alone, Boston outscored Baltimore 24-3, including a 16-2 loss Saturday.
Orioles starter Jorge Lopez allowed seven earned runs in just 3.1 IP, with only one strikeout.
“I think we’ve had some games get away from us, last night and tonight where we go down early,” Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said,
per MLB.com. “Getting down early quite a bit is hard. And you know, we need to get a good start to get things rolling. And I’m not complaining about the lack of effort. I think the execution isn’t really good on the mound right now with some guys, and I think that our at-bats can get a little bit out of control.”
Betting trends
The Rays’ rise to the top of the AL East has certainly come by the way of defeating inferior teams. Tampa Bay is 10-1 in their last 11 against teams with a winning percentage below .400 with the over cashing five in a row.
If you’re looking for how long Baltimore can keep this losing streak going, good luck trying to find a stopgap. Seven of their nine series they play in August are against teams with a winning record.
The over is 5-0 in Tampa’s last five series-opening games.
The Trop is not known as a formidable home-field advantage, but it’s horrendous for the Orioles. They're 6-26 in their last 32 games at Tampa Bay, and 16-37 overall. The over has cashed the last five meetings and is 3-1-1 in the last five at the Trop.
Prediction
It’s such a sad time for Orioles fans. If they could go back to the days of Manny Machado and Chris Davis, it might be a more enjoyable time. Based on how they’ve gotten rocked lately, unless they shock the world and beat Boston on Sunday, this losing streak is not ending any time soon. The Rays had one bad game, but that shouldn’t deter bettors from taking this favorite, especially on a parlay. Even straight up seems like easy money. Rays win, over cashes.
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