2020-08-25 18:40:00 EDT
The Baltimore Orioles and the Tampa Bay Rays meet Tuesday in MLB action from Tropicana Field.
This will be the first of three games featuring these American League East teams this week. The Orioles are coming off a weekend set against the Red Sox. Baltimore lost the first two games of that series but won the last pair to split. As for the Rays, they played the Blue Jays over the weekend, taking two of the first three games. In the final matchup Monday, Tampa Bay fell 6-4 to split the series. Check back all season long for free MLB picks and MLB predictions at Sports Chat Place.
Baltimore is getting some pretty good offensive production from certain guys this season. Anthony Santander is off to a hot start with a .287 BA, 21 runs, 10 homers and 27 RBI. Catcher Pedro Severino is also doing well with five homers, 20 RBI, 27 hits, eight runs and a .333 average. Guys like Rio Ruiz (.213 BA) and Austin Hays (.203 BA) haven’t quite found it yet, though.
For the Tuesday starting pitcher role, the Orioles are trotting out Tommy Milone. In his five starts this season, Milone is 1-3 with a 4.13 ERA and 25 Ks in 24.0 innings of work. Across his career, Milone is 51-50 with a 4.46 ERA and 673 strikeouts in 898.2 innings total.
Over on the Rays’ side, they out-hit the Blue Jays 8-7 on Monday, but coughed up three key runs in the seventh inning. Willy Adames was the top hitter there with a double and a two-run homer.
For the Tuesday starter, Tampa Bay will go with Tyler Glasnow. Over five starts this season, Glasnow is 0-1 with a 6.00 ERA and 35 strikeouts in 21.0 innings. Across his career, Glasnow is 10-18 with a 4.62 ERA and 327 Ks in 278.2 innings of work overall.
The Orioles are 17-35 in their last 52 Tuesday games and 55-118 in their last 173 games as a road underdog. Baltimore is 38-84 in their last 122 games following a win and 58-130 in their last 188 road games.
Meanwhile, the Rays are 6-0 in their last six Tuesday games and 5-0 in their last five games following a loss. Tampa Bay is 13-3 in their last 16 overall and 8-2 in their last 10 after allowing five runs or more in their previous game.
Pick: I’m going Rays here. Tampa’s pitching staff has been great so far this season, and a key component of their hot start. Glasnow is coming off his best start of the year, with 5.2 innings and two earned runs on the road against a tough Yankees lineup. Milone should do fairly well here as well, but considering Tampa Bay’s opportunistic hitting and rock-solid pen it’ll be hard for the Orioles to gain traction in this one.
