Rays Favored in Opener in Rare Series in Colorado

Tampa Bay Heads to Coors Field as the Favorite in First Road Series Of the Season

Rockies logo Will A Return Home Get the Struggling Colorado Rockies Going?

A pair of last-place teams will be getting together for a weekend series in Denver with the Rays vs Rockies series odds favoring visiting Tampa Bay.

Tampa Bay swept all three games against the Rockies during the 2023 season, with two going over the total. The teams haven’t played in Colorado since 2016, when the Rays outscored the Rockies 21-4 in the final two games to win the series.

Uncover Exclusive Picks & Predictions From Our Experts.

The MLB picks have Tampa Bay priced at -179 to win Friday’s series opener, with Colorado at +149. Colorado was 37-31 against the run line as a home underdog last season, with Tampa Bay 29-27 as the road favorite.

Tampa Bay is 11th at +3500 in the odds of winning the World Series with Colorado well back at +50000 in the championship odds.

Rays logo Rays vs Rockies Rockies logo

Day/Time:
Records: Rays 3-4/Rockies 1-6
Location: Coors Field, Denver, CO
Streaming: Bally Sports Sun, and Colorado Rockies TV. Friday’s game is also available on MLB Network.

Probable Starting Pitchers

  • Friday: Zack Littell (Rays); Austin Gomber (Rockies)
  • Saturday: Tyler Alexander (Rays); Ryan Feltner (Rockies)
  • Sunday: Ryan Pepiot (Rays); Daniel Hudson (Rockies)

Rays logo All or Nothing for Tampa Bay

There hasn’t been much middle ground for Tampa Bay in the early portion of the MLB season. In the three wins, the Rays have outscored the opposition 18-5 and gone 11-for-31 with runners in scoring position.

In the four losses, Tampa Bay has been outscored 30-8 and was 3-for-22 with runners in scoring position. That is something to consider when looking at the Rays vs Rockies series odds.

In its most recent game, Tampa Bay was shut out until Harold Ramirez’s ninth-inning single in a 4-1 loss to Texas.

The total has gone over in 13 of Tampa Bay’s last 19 games.

Anybody Ready to Pitch In?

It is pretty hard to win with a pitching staff carrying an ERA of 8.37.

Pitching let Colorado down once again as the Rockies fell behind 5-0 and 8-2 in a 9-8 loss to the Chicago Cubs. The Cubs outscored the Rockies 26-10 in sweeping the three-game series. Keep that in mind when looking at the Rays vs Rockies series odds.

There is plenty of blame to go around. In the last two games, the Colorado starting pitchers had an ERA of 13.50 with the bullpen only slightly better with a 10.38 ERA. Those numbers can’t be blamed on pitching in the launching pad known as Coors Field, as the games were played at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

The total has gone over in eight of Colorado’s last 11 games.

Who’s Hot

  • Charlie Blackmon, Colorado Rockies OF: Four of Blackmon’s first 10 hits have gone for extra bases, and in a recent four-game stretch, he was 9-for-18 with three doubles and four RBIs.
  • Daniel Hudson, Colorado Rockies P: Hudson pitched into the sixth inning in his first start of the season and allowed just four hits and no runs.
  • Zack Littell, Tampa Bay Rays P: Littell allowed four hits and no runs with six strikeouts in six innings in his 2024 season debut.
  • Isaac Parades, Tampa Bay Rays 3B: Parades has homered in two of his last three games and has scored a run in four straight contests.

Who’s Not

  • Tyler Alexander, Tampa Bay Rays P: Alexander gave up five hits and two home runs in five innings in his first start of the season.
  • Kris Bryant, Colorado Rockies OF: Bryant was hitless in his first 16 at-bats with eight strikeouts before having his first hits of the season on Wednesday.
  • Anthony Molina, Colorado Rockies P: In his first two appearances, Molina allowed 10 hits, two home runs, 11 runs with four walks in 3.1 innings of work.
  • Jose Siri, Tampa Bay Rays OF: Siri has struck out 13 times in 27 at-bats in the first seven games of the season as he has a strikeout in each game so far this season.

Rays vs Rockies Injury Update

Tampa Bay infielder Brandon Lowe is dealing with an oblique injury while fellow infielders Josh Lowe, Taylor Walls, and Jonathan Aranda are on the MLB injured list as are pitchers Shane Baz and Taj Bradley.

Pitchers Daniel Bard and Lucas Gilbreath are on the injured list for Colorado.

Rays vs Rockies Betting Preview

While the teams don’t play regularly, Tampa Bay has won seven of the last eight meetings with Colorado.

When looking at the MLB matchups, the total has gone over in four of Tampa Bay’s last five road games, as well as in four of the previous six games in Colorado.

Tampa Bay is 3-3 this season when listed by the MLB odds as the favorite, while Colorado has been the underdog in every game.

After losing six of the first seven games, Colorado is set for its home opener on Friday. Balls could be flying out of Coors Field, with the total set at 12 in the series opener.

Tampa Bay is 2-0 this season against left-handed starting pitching, with the Rockies dropping all four games when the right-handed starter takes to the mound.

Weather in Denver can be tricky in early April but there aren’t any weather concerns for the series opener.
The total has gone over in four of Colorado’s last six games.

Tampa Bay has won its last six games against National League teams and is 7-1 over the last eight matchups with National League West teams. In other words, roll with the visiting Rays.

For MLB betting news, odds analysis, and more, visit Point Spreads Sports Magazine.


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