In the second of a three-game series between the Tampa Bay Rays (50-70) and the Texas Rangers (73-50) at Tropicana Field, Jake Odorizzi (7-5, 3.72 ERA) and A.J. Griffin (5-2, 4.68 ERA) take the mound. The Rangers won the last game 6-2, and Texas leads the series 1-0. The game starts at 6:10 p.m. ET on Saturday, Aug. 20 and will air on FSSW and SUN.
In his most recent outing, Odorizzi pitched 6.0 innings, allowing three runs, striking out six and walking one in a 12-3 victory over the Yankees. Brad Miller (.266, 58 Rs, 25 HRs, 57 RBIs, 6 SBs) went 1 for 3 yesterday. The Rangers were unsuccessful against the Tigers 7-0 the last time Griffin pitched. He went 6.2 innings, allowing six runs, striking out eight and walking one. Mitch Moreland (.254, 42 Rs, 21 HRs, 50 RBIs, 1 SB) went 1 for 2 yesterday with two runs, one home run, and one RBI.
Tampa Bay is a -118 favorite in this game and the Over/Under (O/U) is set at eight runs. When playing as the favorite, the Rays have a 30-36 record and overall money line at -2,550. They are 3-1 as the favorite over their last 10 games. The most recent 10-game stretch for the Rays has gone great. Over that span, Tampa Bay is averaging 6.1 runs per game, well over their season average of 4.2. As for the Tampa Bay defense and pitching staff, teams routinely struggle to score runs against the Rays, who allow only 4.0 runs per home game. The Rays are the best in the AL in hits allowed at home, giving up just 8.0 per game.
Moving on to the away team, the Rangers come into this game with a win percentage of .557 when playing as the underdog (39-31) and an overall money line of +2,619. Texas’s pitching staff and defense as a whole have been firing on all cylinders so far, ranking fifth in the AL with only four runs allowed per road game.
The only other game between the two teams went Texas’s way. The Rays will take on a right-hander (Griffin) in this game and have a 37-53 record against right-handed starting pitchers this season. Taking the hill against the Rangers will be the right-hander Odorizzi. They sport a 53-34 record against righties.
Predictions: SU Winner – TEX, O/U – Over
Notes
The Rays managed to give up four walks in their last game. They’ll have to pick it up against the Rangers who are coming in with a 25-8 record against opponents who give up that many walks or more.
When they are outhit, the Rays are 10-53. The Rangers have a 19-37 record when opponents outhit them.
Ranking eighth in home runs, Texas has hit 157 this season. Tampa Bay ranks fifth with 161 home runs.
Ranking 15th, Tampa Bay is in the top half of the league in hits, notching 8.13 per game. Texas ranks in the top five with 8.96.
Ranking 20th, Tampa Bay is in the bottom half of the league for its on-base plus slugging percentage (.734). Texas ranks in the top half at 12th with an OPS of .755.
The Rangers are 46-42 in games where they allow one or more home runs. The Rays are 26-63 when they allow at least one homer.
