MLB Report on Baltimore Orioles at Tampa Bay Rays

Sports have a way of getting fans through some pretty difficult times in their lives, but there are also times when they are forced to take a back seat to current events. The situation in Baltimore right now is truly awful, and its impact on sports in the city was driven home pretty hard on Wednesday when the Orioles decided to play the White Sox in an empty Camden Yards after the postponement of the first 2 games of the series. They will welcome in the Tampa Bay Rays for a 3-game MLB betting series starting on Friday, and we can only hope that things have improved in the city by then.

MLB Odds Report on Baltimore Orioles at Tampa Bay Rays & Game Info

Date: Friday, May 01, 2015Time: 7:05PMVenue: Tropicana FieldOpening Line: Baltimore -118It was certainly surreal to see the Orioles (10-10) play in an empty home field, but to the credit of the players on both sides they tried to make the very best of it. There are sure to be some who view the fun that the players had as being disrespectful to what was going on in the rest of the city, but there will also be plenty who will argue that a little bit of levity helped make a bad situation seem bearable, even if only for 3 hours. Baltimore is starting to finally come to life in the AL East, as they have reeled off three straight wins to get within 2 games of the division leading Yankees. A series win over the Rays would certainly help propel them even closer to first place. Chris Tillman (2-2, 7.58 ERA) will get the start on Friday, and will be glad that he is not facing the Blue Jays. Both his losses came against the team from the north of the border, and he was shelled in both games.You have to be impressed with this Tampa Bay (12-10) team, especially given how long their injury list is right now. They have done a great job of hanging in there through the first month of the season, but they are sure to be a little disappointed at losing their last series to the Yankees with a chance to go atop the division eluding them in the process. They did manage to avoid the sweep by winning the final game, though, so it’s not all bad. Alex Colome will get his first start on the mound on Friday after finally recovering from a serious bout of pneumonia. He has a few rehab starts in AAA under his belt heading into this one.

Key Baseball Betting Trends

Baltimore is 2-5 SU in its last 7 gamesThe total has gone OVER in 5 of Baltimore’s last 6 gamesBaltimore is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games at homeThe total has gone OVER in 6 of Baltimore’s last 7 games at homeTampa Bay is 5-2 SU in its last 7 gamesThe total has gone UNDER in 5 of Tampa Bay’s last 6 gamesThe total has gone UNDER in 5 of Tampa Bay’s last 6 games on the road

Consider This Before Placing Your Bets

Tillman’s best start of the season so far came against the Rays in the opening game of the season. If he throws the same way in this one, I expect similar results, especially with the O’s facing a pitcher coming off a bit of a layoff.