MLB

Braves vs Rays Prediction - MLB Picks 7/8/23

Published

1y ago

Jul 08, 2023 / 6760 Views

Evan Walker

Tampa Bay Rays (57-34) vs Atlanta Braves (59-28)

Game Info: Saturday, July 8, 2023 at 7:15 pm (Tropicana Field)

Taj Bradley (5-4) (5.11) vs Spencer Strider (10-2) (3.66)

Betting Odds: Tampa Bay Rays +120 / Atlanta Braves -152 --- Over/Under: 7.5 Click Here for the Latest Odds

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The Tampa Bay Rays will host the Atlanta Braves for Game two of their interleague series this Saturday from Tropicana Field on FOX. Atlanta took Game two in a low scoring battle, 2-1.

Braves Betting Preview

Atlanta moved to 59-28 after defeating Tampa Bay. The Braves have opened July by winning five of their first six Games, and they’ll look to pin win number 60 here. The Atlanta offense is scoring 3.83 runs per Game, while batting .257, with a .337 on-base percentage. The pitching staff carries a 3.55 ERA, with a 1.27 WHIP. Ronald Acuna Jr. has recorded a hit in nine of the last ten Games, and he’s leading Atlanta in BA (.333) and hits (117), with 21 HR and 54 RBI. Matt Olson homered in the series finale win over Cleveland, and he leads ATL in home runs (29) and RBI (70). Ozzie Albies has produced a run in four of the previous six Games, and he’s posting splits of .263/22/63.

Spencer Strider (10-2, 3.66 ERA, 155 Ks) will get the ball for Atlanta. The second-year pitcher put together another strong outing against Miami last weekend, striking out nine in 6.2 innings pitched en route to win number tens. Strider has been on a roll, winning his last four starts, while clearing eight strikeouts in four of his last five appearances. Strider is 5-2 on the road this season, and he’ll look to keep things going in Tampa Saturday.

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Rays Betting Preview

Tampa Bay comes in at 57-32 after losing to Philadelphia. The Rays have now dropped four straight Games to open July, and they’ll look to turn things around before Atlanta comes to town this weekend. The Tampa offense is scoring 5.13 runs per Game, while batting .264, with a .336 on-base percentage. The pitching staff carries a 3.70 ERA, with a 1.22 WHIP. Yandy Diaz had three hits in the Game one loss to Atlanta, and he leads Tampa in batting (.316), with 39 RBI. Randy Arozarena was quiet in the series opener, but he’s still first on the team in HR (16) and RBI (58). Wander Franco supplied the only run in G1 with a homer, and he leads the Rays in hits (94), while batting .284, with 44 RBI.

Taj Bradley (5-3, 5.27 ERA, 34 Ks) will take the hill for Tampa. The rookie right-hander had a tough west coast road trip last week, suffering his fourth loss of the year to Arizona, before allowing five runs in just 3.1 innings in Seattle on Sunday. Bradley has been inconsistent over his past month of action, only managing to toss one quality start, while allowing three runs or more in four of his five starts.

Atlanta vs Tampa Trends

Atlanta is 34-49 against the spread this season, with a 31-44-8 O/U record. Tampa Bay is 48-39 ATS this year, with a 49-34-4 over/under record.

Corey’s Free Pick

Tampa’s been bullied by the NL East this week, and they’ll have a very tough time ending that with Spencer Strider set to take the mound for Atlanta. Strider has been on a tear over his last four, and while an antsy Rays team may present quite the challenge, the Braves bats’ have a much better chance of getting to Taj Bradley here. The rookie pitcher may find himself overwhelmed against an Atlanta lineup that was silenced in their own right last night. Back Atlanta for Game two of this interleague series.

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