Athletics vs. Rays MLB Betting Preview and Pick

Rays and A’s Trying to Stay in Posteason Conversation

Two surprising teams collide on Friday when the Oakland Athletics open a three-game series with the Tampa Bay Rays.

Friday, September 14 at 7:10 PM ET

Tropicana Field

Dome

Odds: Tampa Bay is -125-moneyline favorites. Total is 8.5 Under -115.

Two surprising teams collide on Friday when the Oakland Athletics open a three-game series with the Tampa Bay Rays.

Jackson earns no-decision against the Rangers

Edwin Jackson (5-3, 3.26 ERA, 1.16 WHIP) allowed four earned runs on five hits (two home runs) and a walk with five strikeouts over three innings to get a no-decision in an 8-6 win against the Rangers last Saturday. 

The Athletics have scored 715 runs (5th in the majors). They are putting up 4.86 runs per game (5th), hitting .251 (12th) with 201 home runs (3rd).

Oakland ranks 9th with a 3.76 ERA, 5th with a 1.22 WHIP and 26th with 1125 strikeouts. Their bullpen ranks 2nd with a 3.20 ERA.

Khris Davis leads the Athletics with 41 home runs and 110 RBI. Matt Olson has 26 home runs and 73 RBI. Stephen Piscotty has 24 home runs and 76 RBI.

Castillo throws two innings against the Indians

Diego Castillo (3-2, 3.45 ERA, 1.04 WHIP) gave up one earned run on one hit in his last outing. He also had a walk with a strikeout over two innings to get a no-decision in a 6-5 win against the Indians last Monday.

The Rays are 8-0 in Castillo’s last eight appearances. He has a 2.45 ERA and an 0.86 WHIP in his last 15 appearances (six starts).

The Rays have scored 630 runs (19th in the majors). They are putting up 4.34 runs per game (19th), hitting .258 (5th) with 133 home runs (27th).

Tampa Bay ranks 4th with a 3.65 ERA, 3rd with a 1.20 WHIP and 13th with 1258 strikeouts. Their bullpen ranks 9th with a 3.63 ERA.

C.J. Cron leads the Rays with 26 home runs and 62 RBI and Jake Bauers has 10 home runs and 39 RBI.

MLB Trends:

The Under is:

11-5 in Oakland’s last 16 road games

9-3-2 in Jackson’s last 14 starts overall

5-1-2 in Jackson’s last eight starts against a team with a winning record

19-6-1 in Tampa Bay’s last 26 games against a team with a winning percentage above .600

6-2-1 in Tampa Bay’s last nine games against American League West opponents

9-4-1 in Tampa Bay’s last 14 home games against a team with a winning road record

5-2 in the last seven meetings

Edwin Jackson has pitched well on the road. He has posted a 3.18 ERA in six starts. He’s 3-1 with a 3.19 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP in his last seven starts. 

The Rays are giving up just 3.20 runs per game at Tropicana Field. Diego Castillo has a 1.50 ERA in his last four appearances (three starts). He also has a solid bullpen behind him.

The Pick

MLB Pick: Under 8.5 (-115) at Jazz Sports

Check odds here: https://goo.gl/dVwAAb

Odds as seen on ESPN Chalk: https://goo.gl/ji6GJZ