Doug upstone
Cubs
Cubs
| Jul 1 | Bryan Power | 5% | [MLB] (911) Athletics at (912) Tampa Bay Rays Time: 7:05 PM EDT |
Athletics Total Over 3.5 (-125) S Baz (RHP) Must Start |
| Analysis: 5% Athletics Team Total Over (7:05 ET): The A’s surprised the Rays by taking Monday’s series opener by a score of 6-4. They jumped on TB starter Drew Rasmussen early, thanks to a 3-run HR by Shea Langeliers in his first plate appearance since coming off the IL. The A’s then stretched the lead to 4-0 in the top of the third, but it did not hold as the Rays fired back with four runs of their own in the bottom of the fourth. The game then stayed 4-4 for a while. A couple key defensive plays in the 8th by the A’s preserved the tie, then Lawrence Butler finally gave them the lead back (for good) with a two-run triple in the ninth. I believe the Athletics are more than capable of hanging another “crooked number” on the scoreboard tonight. They are facing Shane Baz. While the Rays are 7-0 in Baz’s previous seven starts, the fact of the matter is that is highly misleading. Now Baz was lights out in his last start (eight shutout innings) but that was in Kansas City where the Royals are the lowest scoring home team in all of baseball. Even after that outing, Baz still carries a 4.37 ERA, 1.26 WHIP and 4.52 FIP. There have been five occasions this season where Baz has allowed five or more runs in less than six innings of work, before the Rays’ bullpen is even called upon. As tempting as it is to chase the plus money with the A’s on the ML, betting them Over their team total means we don’t have to worry about a bullpen that is 29th in ERA (5.83). It also does bear mentioning that tonight will mark just the second time since mid-May that the Rays are coming off B2B losses. They have not lost three in a row since May 8th. Of course, if the A’s are to win here, it will almost certainly require them to score four or more runs. They’ve scored a total of 18 in just the last three games, scoring five or more in all three. 5% Athletics Team Total Over 3.5 (Play to -140) |
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