Athletics vs. Rays Prediction and Odds for Tuesday, April 12 (Back Tampa Bay to Roll)
By Matt De Saro
The Oakland Athletics take on the Tampa Bay Rays in Game 2 of this four-game series on Tuesday night at The Trop. The Rays are the only unbeaten team left in the Majors after the first series of games concluded. While they were the only team to sweep their opening series, they did it against the Baltimore Orioles. Winning three in a row against Baltimore isn’t exactly a tall order. Not taking anything away from the Rays, they did outscore Baltimore 15-4 and shut them out 8-0 in Game 3.
The Athletics, on the other hand, have had their struggles to begin the season. They are 2-2 after losing their first two games of the season to the Philadelphia Phillies but have evened out their record since.
Adam Oller will be making his MLB debut on Tuesday to try and turn things around for Oakland. No small task for a day 1 rookie.
Here are the odds for this game, courtesy of WynnBET Sportsbook.
Athletics vs. Rays Odds, Run Line, and Total
Run Line
- Athletics +1.5 (-120)
- Rays -1.5 (+100)
Moneyline:
- Athletics +180
- Rays -200
Total:
- 8.5 (Over -120/Under -100)
Athletics vs. Rays Prediction and Pick
The Rays enter this series with a strong 3-1 record against the spread to go along with their spotless straight-up record. However, despite their dominance, the Rays are 3-1 playing to the under so far this year. Again, this is a byproduct of playing against such a terrible team. But, it has given this pitching staff some early momentum.
I am not sure if there is a word for negative momentum, but that is what Oller has heading into his first regular-season start in the Majors. He suffered through 6 ⅓ innings of “work” during the spring with an ERA of 9.95 and a WHIP over 2.05. He did manage to strike out six compared with two walks. But, he gave up seven earned runs off six hits in less than seven innings. Against a lot of non-starters to boot. Oller could be a quality guy someday. But Tuesday is not that day.
Tommy Romero gets the start for the Rays, and there's a lot to like about what he offers on the mound.
The #Rays have called up RHP Tommy Romero. He’s got an extreme over-the-the-top slot which allows him to throw a great back-spinning fastball with huge ride. CB/SL/CH are his secondaries.
— Rays Metrics (@RaysMetrics) April 11, 2022
His 2.33 ERA is the lowest in minor league baseball since 2019 (min. 160 IP) pic.twitter.com/3YzIrYweGM
Ultimately, too much firepower on the Tampa Bay side and will take them on the run line at even money.
Pick: Rays -1.5 (+100)
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