Orioles Look to Continue Dominance Against Rays
Orioles Vs Rays MLB Odds Favor Visiting Orioles in Friday's Series Opener
Eflin Gets Ball Against Former Team in Orioles-Rays Series Opener
There have been enough ups and downs in the first eight days of August to last the entire month for the Baltimore Orioles.
After taking the final two games of the series with the American League Central-leading Cleveland Guardians, the Orioles dropped a series to the AL East cellar-dwelling Toronto Blue Jays. Now comes a trip to Florida with the Orioles vs Rays MLB odds favoring the visiting Orioles as the series gets underway.
The Orioles have won six of the seven games against Tampa Bay this season with Baltimore outscoring the Rays 40-17. The last time the Orioles went to Tropicana Field, they won all four games back in June.
The MLB betting lines have Baltimore at -135 to win the series opener with +135 odds at -1.5 on the run line. Tampa Bay has +115 odds to win the opener.
The Orioles are fourth at +700 in the odds of winning the World Series. Tampa Bay is well back at +12500 in the championship odds. A quick look at the 2024 MLB standings shows that the Orioles are tied with the New York Yankees for first place in the American League East with Tampa Bay 3.5 games out of the final playoff spot in the American League.
Baltimore Orioles vs Tampa Bay Rays 
Day/Time:
Location: Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, FL
Streaming: MASN2, Bally Sports Sun; Saturday – FOX; Sunday – MASN, Bally Sports Sun, MLB Network
Orioles vs Rays Probable Starting Pitchers
- Friday: Zach Eflin (Orioles); Zack Littell (Rays)
- Saturday: Corbin Burnes (Orioles); TBA (Rays)
- Sunday: Albert Suarez (Orioles); Jeffrey Springs (Rays)
Heading into that game, he was 8-for-17 with five runs, a double, three home runs and six RBIs in a five-game span.
chat is this good? pic.twitter.com/JNwWrNNrZm
— Baltimore Orioles (@Orioles) August 8, 2024
The 20-year-old infielder is starting to show why he was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2022 MLB Draft.
Holliday played in 10 games in April with the Orioles and looked overmatched as he was 2-for-34 with 18 strikeouts.
Since returning to the majors, he is 9-for-28 with four home runs and 10 RBIs. Keep that in mind when looking at the Orioles vs Rays MLB odds.
Fifteen of the last 17 games for the Orioles went over the total.
[tie_index]Running Into A Familiar Face" class="index-title">Running Into A Familiar Face
The Orioles will turn to one of its newest starting pitchers in the series opener.
The Rays won’t need much of a scouting report on Zach Eflin considering that he started 50 games for Tampa Bay over the last two seasons.
Eflin won a career-high 16 games for the Rays last season. It was a little more of a grind this season as Eflin was 5-7 with a 4.09 ERA in 19 starts before being traded to the Orioles for three minor leaguers on July 26.
“I’m happy that we did what we did.”
The O’s loaded up for the stretch run by adding Trevor Rogers, Zach Eflin, Eloy Jiménez and more. @Orioles | #Birdland
🔗 https://t.co/fGPbvbjGlC pic.twitter.com/Q69PtRX7zp— MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM (@MLBNetworkRadio) August 1, 2024
After allowing 10 hits and three runs in six innings in his first start for the Orioles, he picked up his first win for Baltimore by allowing five hits and two runs in 6.1 innings against Cleveland. That could factor into the Orioles vs Rays MLB odds.
Eflin did not pitch against the Orioles this season when he was with Tampa Bay but in his last two outings versus Baltimore in 2023, he allowed three hits and one run with 16 strikeouts in 14 innings.
Five of Tampa Bay’s last seven games landed under the total.
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Who’s Hot
- Yennier Cano, Baltimore Orioles P: Cano has allowed three hits and no runs with three strikeouts in 3.2 innings in his last four appearances.
- Eloy Jimenez, Baltimore Orioles DH: Since being acquired from the Chicago White Sox, Jimenez is 8-for-17 with two doubles and four RBIs in six games.
- Josh Lowe, Tampa Bay Rays 2B: Lowe is 6-for-16 with four runs, four extra-base hits and three RBIs in his last five games.
- Manuel Rodriguez, Tampa Bay Rays P: Rodriguez has not given up a hit or a run with seven strikeouts in four innings in his last four games.
Who’s Not
- Christopher Morel, Tampa Bay Rays 3B: Morel is 4-for-29 with 11 strikeouts since joining the Rays.
- Ryan O’Hearn, Baltimore Orioles 1B: O’Hearn is 4-for-22 with six strikeouts in his previous eight games.
- Albert Suarez, Baltimore Orioles P: Suarez is 1-2 with an ERA of 6.66 over his last six starts.
- Jeffrey Springs, Tampa Bay Rays P: Since making his season debut, Springs has surrendered 12 hits, three home runs, four walks and six runs in 8.2 innings.
Orioles vs Rays Injury Update
Third baseman Jordan Westburg, outfielder Heston Kjerstad as well as pitchers Danny Coulombe, Grayson Rodriguez, and Jacob Webb are on the injured list.
Pitcher Ryan Pepiot and infielder Richie Palacios are on the injured list for the Rays.
Orioles vs Rays Betting Preview
There is not much to separate the Orioles from the Cleveland Guardians or the New York Yankees in the MLB playoff bracket so every game and series is crucial from this point on.
Since the start of the 2023 season, the MLB baseball scores show that Baltimore has won four of the six one-run games against the Rays.
Tampa Bay has lost its last six home games against Baltimore.
The Orioles are 25-16 when listed as the road favorite while Tampa Bay is 8-11 as a home underdog.
Tampa Bay has seen six of its last eight games go under the total but nine of Baltimore’s last 10 games went over the total. The total for the series opener is at 7.5 so Baltimore may see another road contest go over the total after 35 of the first 57 road games went over.
There is about a 50% chance of rain at the time of the first pitch but the rain should be moving out of the area within the first hour or so.
Baltimore heads into the series with a 54-36 record as a favorite and with the recent success against Tampa Bay, it won’t be a surprise for the Orioles to add to that record.
For MLB betting news, odds analysis, and more, visit Point Spreads Sports Magazine.
