The two best teams in baseball continue a weekend series in Tampa Bay on Saturday with two of the brightest young pitchers in the game on the mound.
Rays' rookie Taj Bradley hasn't had the success that his numbers show, but his strikeout numbers are elite as the team lets him get acclimated to the big leagues. He will face the best lineup in baseball in the Atlanta Braves while Tampa Bay faces Spencer Strider.
Strider has taken a step back after a hot start to the season, can the Rays pounce at home?
Here are the odds and our best bet:
Braves vs. Rays odds, run line and total
Braves vs. Rays prediction and pick
Bradley has been crushed by hard contact, allowing a home run to fly ball rate of 17% this season, but if it's not leaving the yard, he's been filthy, punching out more than 12 batters per nine innings. Some of this is beginners (un)luck, as the rookie has a xERA of 3.93, far lower than his 5.27.
While the Braves bolster the best lineup in baseball from an OPS perspective, I believe the team is getting too much credit on the road against Tampa Bay, who has this kind of talent on the mound.
Meanwhile, Strider is starting to find his Cy Young form, allowing a combined four earned runs in his last three starts, each of which have been more than six innings, but he is still walking more than three batters per nine and has also allowed plenty of hits, opponents are hitting .321 on batted balls in play. The key is avoiding the highest strikeout rate in baseball as Strider punches out more than 14 batters per nine innings, the highest rate in baseball.
Tampa Bay checks in right around the league average in strikeouts as a club, if the team can avoid punch outs, I believe they can get to Strider with its power. There is no team better accustomed to outperform an underdog price (outside of the Braves) than the Rays, the second best team in baseball. I'll take the home underdog at a huge price.
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
