Tampa Bay Rays vs Arizona Diamondbacks Prediction, Preview and Odds - 06/28/2023

Game Time: 9:40 pm ET, Wednesday, June 28, 2023

Venue:  Chase Field, Phoenix, AZ 

Where to Watch:  BSAZ

DraftKings:  Moneyline odds:  Rays -140, D-Backs +120; Over/Under:  8.5 runs

Bet365:  Moneyline odds:  Rays -140, D-Backs +120; Over/Under:  8.5 runs

BetMGM:  Moneyline odds:  Rays -140, D-Backs +120; Over/Under:  8.5 runs

Tampa Bay Rays:  54-27 (1st place, AL East)

Arizona Diamondbacks:  47-32 (1st place, NL West)

Do not miss out on our expert handicapper analysis! Sean Murphy is on a HOT STREAK in the MLB: 70-51 ($12.0K) this season! Make sure you check out his picks and many more from the expert handicappers featured in the Shop Picks section.

Tampa Bay Rays:  5-5 last 10

Arizona Diamondbacks:  6-4 last 10

The Rays are entering this series off of a win and split their 4-game series against the Kansas City Royals 2-2 in their last series. They enter this game with a 54-27 record overall and have a road record of 20-17. This is the 2nd game of a 3-game series with the Diamondbacks on Wednesday with the series opener of this series still to be played on Tuesday. Their offense ranks 2nd in the MLB with a .802 OPS. Rookie pitcher Taj Bradley is their starting pitcher on Tuesday while Zach Eflin is making his start in this game on Wednesday. He is 9-3 with a 3.35 ERA this season. His team lost 2 of their last 3 games this season with him making an appearance. In his last MLB regular season start, he allowed 3 ER, 2 HR, and 2 BB with 7 Ks on 7 hits through 6 IP against the Kansas City Royals.

The Diamondbacks are entering this series off of a win but lost their 3-game series against the San Francisco Giants 2-1 in their last series. They enter this game with a 47-32 record overall and have a home record of 23-18. This is the 2nd game of a 3-game series with the Rays on Wednesday with the 1st game of this series still to be played on Tuesday. Their offense ranks 5th in the MLB with a .768 OPS. Zac Gallen is their starting pitcher on Tuesday while Tommy Henry is making his start in this game on Wednesday. He is 4-1 with a 4.31 ERA this season. His team won their last 5 straight games this season with him making an appearance. In his last MLB regular season start, he allowed 1 earned run, 1 homer, and 1 BB with 5 strikeouts on 7 hits through 6.2 innings played against the Washington Nationals.

The current betting odds have the Diamondbacks listed as an underdog in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. The Diamondbacks and the Rays have both been having great seasons as the Rays have the best record in the entire MLB while the D-Backs have the best record in the NL West. Both of these teams also have some of the best offenses in the MLB right now so pitching is going to be really important in this series. The Diamondbacks have been a good home team while the Rays have struggled a lot more in their road games and they also have Eflin starting here who has definitely struggled more in his road starts too. He has also been giving up quite a few runs consistently in his starts lately and he will get himself into trouble on the road here against one of the best offenses in the league. The D-Backs have Henry on the mound here and he got off to a really rough start this season as he was giving up a ton of runs in his starts, but he has been pitching a lot better in his starts lately and has also been giving up less runs at home too. Both of these teams have really strong offenses but the Rays haven't been the same team in their road games this season that they have been at home and the D-Backs can take advantage of this pitching matchup in their favor. The best way to place a bet here is on the Diamondbacks to win this game.

Rays Diamondbacks Prediction:  Our MLB Pick for Wednesday, June 28, 2023 (9:40 pm ET start time) is Diamondbacks 8 Rays 4.

Don't miss our champion handicappers free picks, best bets, and expert baseball picks today.  And if you enjoyed this Tampa Bay Rays Arizona Diamondbacks prediction, be sure to drop by every day for our daily MLB projections and previews.

Tampa Bay Rays: 54-27 (+16 units) on the moneyline in all games. 49-19 (+18.5 units) on the moneyline as a favorite of -110 or higher. 26-18 OVER when the total is 8.5 to 10. 5-1 OVER against NL West opponents.

Arizona Diamondbacks: 173-230 (-20.6 units) on the moneyline in all games. 57-96 (-29.2 units) on the moneyline when the total is 8 to 8.5. 35-19 OVER in an inter-league game.

Tampa Bay Rays:  S. McClanahan (SP) Prob Fri - Back. C. Faucher (RP) Early July - Elbow. B. Lowe (2B) Mid July - Back. J. Fleming (SP) Late July - Elbow. A. Kittredge (RP) Early Aug - Elbow. D. Rasmussen (RP) Early Aug - Elbow. G. Cleavinger (RP) out for season - Knee. J. Springs (RP) out for season - Elbow. S. Baz (SP) out for season - Elbow.

Arizona Diamondbacks:  C. Sulser (RP) Early July - Shoulder. M. Melancon (RP) Late July - Shoulder. C. Martin (SP) out for season - Shoulder.

“It's awesome. It's great. We've been playing really well all season and we've maintained it throughout the season as well.” - Tyler Glasnow after their win against the Royals in their game on Sunday.

“We felt like we needed to respond to a couple of tough games where we let some things get away from us that we were able to control. The group walked in here today very focused.” - Torey Lovullo after his team’s win against the Giants in their game on Sunday.

Yandy Diaz (R) 1B

Wander Franco (S) SS

Harold Ramirez (R) DH

Randy Arozarena (R) LF

Isaac Paredes (R) 3B

Manuel Margot (R) RF

Taylor Walls (S) 2B

Christian Bethancourt (R) C

Jose Siri (R) CF

Geraldo Perdomo (S) SS

Ketel Marte (S) 2B

Corbin Carroll (L) LF

Christian Walker (R) 1B

Lourdes Gurriel Jr. (R) DH

Evan Longoria (R) 3B

Alek Thomas (L) CF

Gabriel Moreno (R) C

Jake McCarthy (L) RF

Batting Average:  Yandy Diaz (.316)

Hits:  Wander Franco (84)

Home Runs:  Randy Arozarena (14)

RBI:  Randy Arozarena (54)

Stolen Bases:  Wander Franco (25)

Wins:  Shane McClanahan (11)

Saves:  Jason Adam (11)

ERA:  Chase Anderson (0.00)

Batting Average:  Emmanuel Rivera (.314)

Hits:  Ketel Marte (83)

Home Runs:  Corbin Carroll (16)

RBI:  Christian Walker (53)

Stolen Bases:  Corbin Carroll (23)

Wins:  Merrill Kelly (9)

Saves:  Andrew Chafin (8)

ERA:  Scott McGough (2.41)

Managers:

Tampa Bay Rays: Kevin Cash (9th season)

Arizona Diamondbacks: Torey Lovullo (7th season)