Betting the Tampa Bay vs Orioles MLB Match Up

Posted by Ryan Knuppel on Thursday,April 7, 2016 2:32, EDT in

The Tampa Bay Rays and Baltimore Orioles will both look to win their third straight games when they kick off their three-game weekend series on Friday at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. The Orioles have not announced their starters for the series beyond series opener Mike Wright, while the Rays will hand the ball to right-hander Chris Archer for Friday night’s game. Now, let’s find out who’s going to bag the win in this intriguing pro baseball lines affair.

How To Bet The Rays (2-2) @ Orioles (2-0) MLB Odds, TV & Game Info

When: Friday, April 08 – 7:05 PM EST
Where: Oriole Park at Camden Yards, Baltimore, Maryland
Starting Pitchers: Rays: Chris Archer (0-1) vs Orioles: Mike Wright (0-0)
TV: SUN, MASN
Radio: Rays and Orioles
TV Stream: SUNNetwork
MLB Odds: TBA

Why Bet the Tampa Bay Rays

Because they’ve got the better starting pitcher taking the bump! The Rays beat Toronto 5-3 on Wednesday in the finale of a four-game series against Toronto following their 3-2 win one day earlier. Tampa Bay will turn to Chris Archer in this affair and that fact should give the Rays a great chance to win if he pitches like he did in his regular season debut on Sunday.

Despite ending up on the wrong side of a 5-3 loss that day, Archer struck out 12 in five innings to pull off a feat that established a new team record for strikeouts on Opening Day. Seattle’s Felix Hernandez was the last player to strike out a dozen on Opening Day, when he did so on April 2, 2007, against Oakland.

Archer took the loss on Sunday, but gave up just two earned runs on five hits and three walks with the final nine outs of his five-inning stint coming via the K. Archer offered the following assessment after his outing. “There were a couple of things [he wasn’t pleased with in the opener]. I think at the end of the day, it all stems from fastball command. And that was just in one inning. The rest, when you have a high number of strikeouts, your pitch count is going to be a little elevated. “If I could have eliminated some damage in that first inning, I would have done a better job of getting deeper, saving the bullpen, all the things that go into being a successful starting pitcher.”

Archer went 12-13 last season with a solid 3.23 ERA but is 0-4 in seven starts since September and just 1-2 with a 4.91 ERA in three career appearances at Camden Yards. The Rays are 4-1 in their last five games against a team with a winning, 7-3 in their last 10 games overall and 7-3 in their last 10 games against a right-handed starter.

Why Bet the Baltimore Orioles

Because they’re playing at home and on a roll! The Orioles have won two straight over Minnesota to start the season including a 4-2 win on Wednesday. Baltimore will give the ball in this one to right-hander Chris Tillman who will be making his second start of the season after tossing two innings and striking out five of the six batters he faced on Opening Day in a game that was delayed by rain.

The good news for the O’s coming into this contest is that they’ve gone 5-0 in their last five games against teams from the AL East, a perfect 7-0 in their last seven games against a right-handed starter and an identical 7-0 in their last seven home games.

My Expert Prediction and Pick

The Rays may be 4-1 in the last five rod games against Baltimore, but it is the Orioles that are my pick to win and cash in this time. The Orioles are 4-1 in Chris Tillman’s last five starts and a blistering 25-10 in Tillman’s last 35 starts during Game 1 of a series.

Conversely, the Rays are just 9-19 in their last 28 road games against a right-handed starter, 3-7 in Chris Archer’s last 10 road starts and 1-4 in Archer’s L/5 road starts against a team with a winning record.

My final score prediction: Baltimore 5 Tampa Bay 3