MLB Baseball Betting: Baltimore Orioles at Tampa Bay Rays

The American League East is very tightly packed at the moment and it’s hard to see any of the teams in the division running away with the crown in the second half of the season. The Toronto Blue Jays are right in the mix–they’re in third place at the moment mere fractions back of the second place Boston Red Sox and two games back of the first place Baltimore Orioles. The Jays will start the second half run against Oakland on Friday night but Toronto fans will also need to keep one eye on the rest of the division. This weekend could really stir things up in the division as four of the six teams are engaged in series against each other. The Boston Red Sox will renew their forever running rivalry with the New York Yankees and the Baltimore Orioles will play on the road against the struggling Tampa Bay Rays.

The Rays might have a slightly better record than Minnesota or Atlanta but you can make a good case that they’re actually the worst team in baseball. Tampa entered the All Star break in dismal form having lost 9 of their last 10 games. That doesn’t accurately convey how bad this team has been–going back a bit further shows that the Rays are on a 3-21 run in their last 24 games. And why is Tampa Bay favored here? It’s the pitching matchup. Chris Archer is one of the few competent players on Tampa Bay and while his overall record isn’t anything impressive he’s put up decent numbers at home with a 2.70 ERA and a 1.182 WHIP. Not that it’s helped his team any–Tampa Bay has lost 14 of his 19 starts overall and 7 of 9 at home.

Baltimore starts struggling right hander Yovani Gallardo. Gallardo has struggled for most of the season but has started to show improved form in the last three starts. Baltimore won two of those three games and in the wins Gallardo pitched 11 innings allowing 5 earned runs. That won’t get him a Cy Young Award, but it’s not bad. Baltimore h as won 7 of 9 head to head against Tampa Bay this year though the Rays have won 2 of 3 in Tampa.

BET BALTIMORE ORIOLES +125 OVER TAMPA BAY RAYS