Tampa Bay Rays vs Oakland Athletics Prediction, Preview and Odds - 05/04/2022

Game Time: 3:37 pm ET, Wednesday, May 4, 2022

Venue:  RingCentral Coliseum, Oakland, CA 

Where to Watch:  NBCS-CA

DraftKings:  Moneyline odds:  Rays -115, Athletics -105; Over/Under:  6.5 runs

Bet365:  Moneyline odds:  Rays -115, Athletics -105; Over/Under:  6.5 runs

BetMGM:  Moneyline odds:  Rays -115, Athletics -105; Over/Under:  6.5 runs

 

Tampa Bay Rays:  13-10 (3rd place, AL East)

Oakland Athletics:  10-13 (4th place, AL West)

 

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Tampa Bay Rays:  6-4 last 10

Oakland Athletics:  3-7 last 10

 

 

 

The Rays are coming into this game with a 13-10 record overall and they are 4-3 in their road games this season where they will be in this game. They have lost 2 of their last 3 games but are coming into this one off of a win in their last game which snapped a 2 game losing streak that they were on. They just lost their 3-game series against the Minnesota Twins 2-1 and they are playing the series finale of a 3-game series with the Athletics on Wednesday night. This will be the 3rd game of the series on Wednesday with the 2nd game still to be played on Tuesday. Ryan Yarbrough is the starting pitcher for them on Tuesday while Corey Kluber is on the mound for them here on Wednesday. He is 1-1 with a 3.05 ERA this season. His team lost 2 of their last 3 games this season with him as a starter. In his last start, he allowed 1 earned runs, 0 homers, and 0 BB with 6 strikeouts on 1 hit in 6 innings played against the Minnesota Twins. They scored 10 runs in their last series averaging just over 3 runs scored per game in that span and they allowed 19 runs against them averaging just over 6 runs allowed per game.

 

The Athletics are coming into this game with a 10-13 record overall and they are 4-7 in their home games this season where they will be in this game. They have lost 5 of their last 6 games and are coming into this one on a 4 game losing streak. They just lost their 3-game series against the Cleveland Guardians getting swept 3-0 and they are playing the series finale of a 3-game series with the Rays on Wednesday night. This will be the 3rd game of the series on Wednesday with the 2nd game still to be played on Tuesday. Paul Blackburn is the starting pitcher for them on Tuesday while Frankie Montas will be on the mound for them here on Wednesday. He is 2-2 with a 4.25 ERA this season. His team lost their last 2 straight games this season with him as a starter. In his last start, he allowed 5 ER, 2 HRs, and 4 BB with 6 Ks on 5 hits in 5 IP against the Cleveland Guardians. They scored 12 runs in their last series averaging 4 runs scored per game in that span and they allowed 19 runs against them averaging just over 6 runs allowed per game.

 

The Rays are coming into this game as a slight favorite with the current betting odds. The Rays have been very inconsistent to start the season. Their strength lies in their pitching and they have been very inconsistent as they pitch gems in some games but have been blown up in others. Kluber is on the mound here and he has been good this season with only 1 bad start so far. The same goes for Montas as he has also been good but is coming off of his bad start in his last game. The Athletics got off to a little bit of a hot start at the beginning of the season but they have cooled off recently and the rays have been starting to hit the ball a lot better in their games. The Rays have been heating up more in recent games and they also have the better bullpen to lean on in this game if it does get very close. The Rays were swept by the A's earlier this season though and the Rays seem to remember that after game 1 of this series winning that one 6-1. The Rays look like they are out for revenge here and now that the A's have cooled off a bit, the best bet here is on the Rays to win this game.

 

Rays Athletics Prediction:  Our MLB Pick for Wednesday, May 4, 2022 (3:37 pm ET start time) is Rays 5 Athletics 3.

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Tampa Bay Rays: 165-104 (+34.5 Units) ML in all games. 71-49 (+19.8 Units) ML in road games. 25-17 OVER on the road with a money line of -100 to -150.

Oakland Athletics: 9-11 (-3.4 Units) ML when the total is 7 or less. 80-85 (-17.4 Units) ML against right-handed starters. 12-7 OVER when the total is 7 or less.

 

 

Tampa Bay Rays:  J. Choi (1B) Out indefinitely - Elbow injury. L. Patino (SP) Out indefinitely - Oblique injury. T. Glasnow (SP) out for season - Elbow injury.

Oakland Athletics:  R. Laureano (CF) Elig May 8 - Suspension. S. Vogt (C) Out indefinitely - Knee injury. D. Jackson (SS) Out indefinitely - Illness.

 

 

 

"We've got an offense that we expect a lot of big things from this year. Even though with key guys out we've still got some key guys in there and would expect that it's going to be a very deep, thick lineup that can wear pitching down, and I felt like we kind of did that tonight." - Kevin Cash after his team’s win against the A’s on Monday.

 

 

"It's a good-hitting ballclub. Rasmussen pitched really well tonight, too, so when you have that balance it works out.... It's just execution and the balance between attacking and executing." - Daulton Jeffries after their loss against the Rays on Monday.

 

 

 

Yandy Diaz (R) 1B

Wander Franco (S) SS

Randy Arozarena (R) LF

Brandon Lowe (L) 2B

Harold Ramirez (R) DH

Kevin Kiermaier (L) CF

Manuel Margot (R) RF

Taylor Walls (S) 3B

Mike Zunino (R) C

 

Tony Kemp (L) 2B

Sheldon Neuse (R) 3B

Jed Lowrie (S) DH

Sean Murphy (R) C

Stephen Piscotty (R) RF

Seth Brown (L) 1B

Chad Pinder (R) LF

Elvis Andrus (R) SS

Cristian Pache (R) CF

 

 

Batting Average:  Ji-Man Choi (.357)

Hits:  Wander Franco (28)

Home Runs:  Wander Franco (4)

RBI:  Wander Franco (14)

Stolen Bases:  Taylor Walls (4)

Wins:  Josh Fleming (2)

Saves:  Andrew Kittredge (3)

ERA:  J.P. Feyereisen (0.00)

 

Batting Average:  Sheldon Neuse (.310)

Hits:  Sheldon Neuse (22)

Home Runs:  Sean Murphy (4)

RBI:  Sean Murphy (14)

Stolen Bases:  Sheldon Neuse (3)

Wins:  Paul Blackburn (3)

Saves:  Dany Jimenez (4)

ERA:   Dany Jimenez (0.00)

 

Managers:

Tampa Bay Rays: Kevin Cash (8th season)

Oakland Athletics: Mark Kotsay (1st season)