Rays vs. Athletics Odds & Betting Predictions - August 22, 2024

Wrong team favored.

Follow On X: https://x.com/PicksOffice The Rays will send left-handed pitcher Jeffrey Springs to the hill, who is 1-1 with a 3.86 ERA through 18 2/3 innings this season. For Springs, he has been sharp up until now, particularly in his last start against the Arizona Diamondbacks when he allowed just one earned run across five innings with seven strikeouts. Yep, it's the same stuff: his ability to throw strikes and punch out hitters could be big in this game against an Oakland lineup that really has not shown much consistency at the plate. On the other side, the Athletics will start right-handed pitcher Osvaldo Bido, who has quietly been very productive this season with a 4-3 record and a 3.40 ERA in 45 2/3 innings. Most recently, dominance was on full display against the San Francisco Giants, in which Bido pitched six scoreless with only one hit yielded. With his strong form and limiting opposing offenses, the setup is there for another low-scoring game, particularly with the Rays team that has been pretty weak against right-handed pitching. And while this team has a .231 AVG—good for 26th in all of the MLB—and as miserable as a .222 AVG against right-handers, they are really starting to sputter at this time facing a right-hander in Bido who has been steady all season long. Finally, Tampa Bay is also near the bottom in the league in runs scored with 3.9 runs per game, making it all the more likely that they'll be unable to put up many runs come tonight. Though slightly better in production, the Athletics also have their issues. The Athletics' .230 team batting average puts them near the bottom of the league and although they hit a bit better against lefties (.233 average), it's not enough to make much of an impact against Springs. Oakland's offense, similar to that of Tampa Bay, has been pretty underwhelming, and while marginally better in terms of run production, their overall lack of firepower is likely to keep the score low. Both bullpens play a huge role in this game as well, including Tampa Bay relievers with a 3.00 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP, and Oakland's bullpen contemplating a respectable ERA of 3.20 and a WHIP of 1.17. These numbers would probably point out that even if the starters did not last very long, the bullpens are likely to hold off in the low-scoring environment. The game trends are very strongly under-favoring. Each of the last three in this series has gone under the total and both teams have been going the low-scoring route of late. The under is 8-1 in the Rays last 9 road games and 9-0 in the Athletics last 9 home games, to further drive home the expectation of a low-scoring contest.