Tampa Bay Rays vs. Oakland Athletics Free Pick 10/02/19

The Tampa Bay Rays are taking on the Oakland Athletics in the American League Wild Card Elimination Game. The first pitch will be fired off at 8:09 p.m. ET and this winner-take-all matchup will be nationally televised on ESPN.

Tampa Bay Rays at Oakland Athletics Odds

Tampa Bay (+120) is entering this game as the underdog against Oakland (-130) and Vegas has set the Over/Under for this one at 8 runs (-110 for the under and -110 for the over). There’s a runline of Rays +1.5 (-175) and Athletics -1.5 (+155) for this matchup.

In the regular season, the Athletics are 97-65 straight up (SU) and 89-73 against the spread (ATS). The team has gained 22.8 units for bettors taking the moneyline and 12.3 units ATS. Oakland has covered the spread just once in its last seven games and the total has gone under in six of those seven. The Rays have gone 96-66 SU this year and are 82-80 ATS. They’ve lost 0.5 units for moneyline gamblers and 8.8 units ATS. Tampa Bay is 3-4 ATS over its last seven games and the under has cashed in four of those seven.

Oakland games have had an over/under record of 72-85-5 in 2019. The Rays have an over/under record of 79-75-8.

Right-hander Charlie Morton is projected to start for the visiting Rays. Morton (16-6, 3.05 ERA) has racked up 240 strikeouts in 194.2 innings so far. He’s 1-0 with 13 strikeouts and a 0.68 ERA against Oakland this year (two starts).

The Athletics are sending lefty Sean Manaea (4-0, 1.21 ERA) to the mound. Manaea has 30 punchouts and seven walks as well as a WHIP of 0.78. Manaea hasn’t faced the Rays yet this year and only made one start against them in 2018 (0-1, 7.20 ERA and three strikeouts across five innings).

As a unit, Oakland’s pitching staff has allowed 4.2 runs per game overall this season. The club’s starters have a 4.02 ERA, 1.24 WHIP and 7.1 strikeouts per nine innings. The bullpen has a 3.89 ERA, 1.24 WHIP and 9.4 K/9.

The Oakland hitters have put up 5.2 runs per outing, including 3.7 per game over its last 10 games and 2.2 per game over their last five. The team has hit .207/.309/.348 over its last five matchups and is 3-2 SU during that span.

Shortstop Marcus Semien and third baseman Matt Chapman have led the Athletics’ batters this year. Semien is hitting .285/.369/.522 with 33 home runs, 92 RBIs and 123 runs scored, and Chapman’s line is .249/.342/.506 with 36 homers, 91 RBIs and 102 runs.

In the visiting dugout, Tampa Bay’s pitchers have allowed 4.0 runs per game and its starting pitchers own a 3.64 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and 10.20 K/9. The bullpen has an ERA of 3.71, along with a K/9 of 9.62.

The Rays offense has slashed .254/.327/.431 on its way to 4.7 runs scored per game this year, including 4.5 runs per game over the team’s last 10 games and 3.2 per game over the team’s last five outings (3-2 SU).

Tampa Bay’s hitters have been paced by Tommy Pham and Austin Meadows. Pham is hitting .273/.369/.450 with 21 home runs, 68 RBIs, 77 runs and 25 stolen bases, while Meadows is hitting .291/.364/.558 with 33 homers, 89 RBIs and 83 runs scored.

The Rays have lost 4.7 units and are 30-27 ATS when facing a lefty starter this season. The over has hit in 25 of those games, compared to 29 that’ve gone under against left-handed starting pitchers. On the other hand, the Athletics have netted 3.6 units and are 59-54 ATS when facing a right-handed starting pitcher. The over’s hit in 51 of those games, as opposed to 59 that’ve gone under.

Tampa Bay Rays at Oakland Athletics Prediction

Predictions: SU Winner – Athletics, ATS Winner – Rays, O/U – OVER