Tampa Bay @ OAKLAND
Tampa Bay +131 over OAKLAND

BEST LINES:  Pinnacle +131 BET365  +125 SportsInteraction +125 5DIMES +125

Posted at 11:35 AM EST. 

3:35 PM EST. Note the early start time here. After welcoming Nathan Eovaldi and his 98 MPH fastball back into the lineup last night, the Rays will go ahead and deploy their starter by committee strategy this afternoon. Enter Ryne Stanek (RHP), who is listed as the Rays starter in Oakland today. Stanek has some pedigree as a former first-round pick in 2013 and he's made 42 starts in his 120 big league appearances but had been working exclusively out of Tampa's pen for the last two seasons, that is until he started a game last week. Stanek made his first start of the season against the free-swinging Orioles and he sat down all five batters he faced in that game. He's seen limited action in 2018 with just 8.1 frames pitched, but he has struck out 11 batters over that small sample size. Stanek pitched 1.2 IP in relief against the A's on May 28 and allowed only one hit. Regardless of what you think about the way the Rays are using their arms, it doesn't matter who they send to the bump today because the A's are one of the most undisciplined teams in the American League and their hitters have been trending downward as of late. A's batters are averaging nearly nine Ks per games this season but are into the double digits over their last three contests. It gets worse for the Oakland bats, as the A's have the AL's worst home OPS, and they have averaged less than two runs per game over the past week. As Blue Jays play-by-play man and resident genius, Buck Martinez often quips, "You can't win if you don't score runs."

Dan Mengden (RHP, OAK) has been on an amazing run. He's allowed no earned runs in his past two starts covering 16 innings and he's only allowed more than two earned in one start since April 28. So why does he have a negative rating for this outing? There are two factors at work here. First, Mengden's strikeout rating is negative, as he has only a 5.8 K’s/9 for the season, and Tampa Bay has the third fewest K's in the AL. Second, his win expectation is among the day's worst in this matchup. Mengden's stock is through the roof and that’s the best time to jump off an average pitcher. If Mengden pitches another gem then so be it, but we're selling while his stock is high and while the A’s are priced in this range when they are seeing BB gun pellets at the plate.  

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Our Pick

Tampa Bay +131 (Risking 2 units - To Win: 2.62)

Baltimore -1½ +124 over L.A. Angels
San Francisco +100 over San Diego
Toronto +120 over Tampa Bay
Washington +135 over Cincinnati
San Diego under 83½ -105
Boston under 79½ -110