Tampa Bay Rays vs Atlanta Braves Betting Pick & Prediction 6/16/24

From Truist Park in Atlanta, we have the Rays and Braves facing off in an interleague matchup. First pitch for Sunday’s matchup is set for 1:35 PM ET. BSSUN is carrying the game on TV, and the money line odds have the Braves favored at -118 compared to the Rays at -101. The over/under line is currently at 9 runs.

Braves are on a three-game winning streak and are 38-30 overall, while the Rays have lost two straight and are 33-38. Today’s starting pitching matchup has Zach Eflin for the Rays and Hurston Waldrep for the Braves.

ATLANTA BRAVES VS TAMPA BAY RAYS BETTING PICK

The Pick: Atlanta Braves Moneyline -118

This game will be played at Truist Park at 1:35 ET on Sunday, June 16th.

HOW TO BET THE RAYS VS BRAVES:

• We have the Braves winning by a score of 6 to 5
• However, if you’re looking for a run line pick, we like the Rays to cover
• As for an over/under pick, we have this game finishing with 11 runs and like the over

The most recent game o of this Braves vs. Rays series took place on the road for the Rays. Tampa Bay had a late rally, scoring three runs in the 7th and another run in the 9th, but still fell short with the Braves winning 9-2. Heading into the game, the Braves were favored at -132 on the money line.

Charlie Morton started for the Braves and picked up the win, going six innings and giving up just one run. He finished the game with eight strikeouts but issued two walks. On the other side, Ryan Pepiot got the start for the Rays and took the loss, going just 4 2/3 innings and giving up five runs.

Atlanta’s offense was led by Marcell Ozuna and Jarred Kelenic, as they were the only two Braves hitters to have more than one hit. Ozuna, Kelenic, and Matt Olson each homered for the Braves’ offense.

Rays Records & Stats

The Rays are 33-38 overall and trail the Yankees by 16 games in the AL East. Currently, they are in 5th place in the division and have gone just 10-17 against other AL East teams. Tampa Bay has dropped two straight games, and they are 3-7 across their last 10 contests.

At home, the Rays are 19-23 this year and 14-15 on the road. As the underdog, the Rays are 12-18 this year, and they are 21-20 when favored. Tampa Bay has an overall series record of 10-10-2 this year.

When the Rays are on the road, they have been a solid bet against the run line, going 15-14. Their average run margin for the season is -1.0, but they have been able to cover the run line in 15 of their 29 road games. They have been a better bet against the run line as an underdog, going 14-16, compared to just 14-27 when they are favored.

The Rays are on the road today against the Braves, and the over/under line is set at 9 runs. Tampa Bay’s games have averaged 8.7 runs per game this season, and their over/under record is 36-33. Their games have had an average over/under line of 8 runs, and when the line is set at 9 runs, their record is 0-3-1. Only 4.2% of their games have had lines set at 9 runs or higher, and their games have gone under the line in 90.1% of their contests. The over has hit in their last two games.

Tampa Bay is sending right-hander Zach Eflin to the mound today vs. the Braves. He has made 12 starts this season and has a record of 3-4 with an ERA of 4.06. Eflin’s WHIP for the season is currently 1.15. Looking at his overall numbers, Eflin has made four quality starts this year and is coming off an outing in which he didn’t allow a homer. In that start vs. the Cubs, he went 5 2/3 innings and gave up two earned runs. Eflin has not lost a game since May 13th.

For the season, the Rays are averaging just 3.8 runs per game, which is 27th in the league. They have been even worse at home, averaging just 3.7 runs per contest. As a team, they are batting just .232 and have the worst home run total in the league.

Yandy Diaz has been swinging a hot bat of late, going 14/39 in his last nine games. For the season, he is batting .259 and is 2nd on the team with 30 RBIs. Isaac Paredes has a team-high 38 RBIs and is also leading the Rays with 10 home runs. However, he is batting just .286 for the season.

Braves Records & Stats

With their three-game winning streak, the Braves are 38-30 overall and trail the Phillies by eight games in the NL East. So far, they are 12-11 in divisional games. Atlanta has taken the first two games of this series vs. the Rays and have an overall series record of 12-8-2. Recently, they are just 4-6 over their last 10 games.

At home, the Braves have gone 21-12 this season compared to an 17-18 mark on the road. As the favorite, the Braves are 36-25 and 2-5 as the underdog. Their overall record as the home favorite is 21-12. So far, they have been good in interleague play, going 7-3.

When the Braves are at home, they have a run line record of 16-17, which is just below .500. Their average run margin at home is 0.5, which is slightly lower than their overall average run margin of 0.6. They have won three straight games against the run line at home and are 30-31 against the run line as the favorite this season.

When the Braves play at home, the over/under line is set at 9 runs for their matchup with the Rays. The Braves have an over/under record of 25-40 on the season, and their games have averaged 8.3 runs per game. In games with an over/under line of 9 runs, the Braves have a record of 5-8-2. The over has hit in two straight games for the Braves.

Hurston Waldrep is getting the start for the Braves at home against the Rays. He is coming off a loss in his first start of the season, where he went 3 2/3 innings and gave up 7 runs on 4 strikeouts. He did give up a home run in that outing.

Marcell Ozuna and Matt Olson have been two of the Braves’ top power threats this season, with Ozuna’s 20 homers ranking 3rd in the league, and Olson’s 11 homers putting him 2nd on the team. Ozuna is also batting .327 for the season, while Olson comes in at .252. Over his last five games, Ozuna is 10/20 with four runs scored and seven RBIs, while Olson has gone 8/20 with four runs and four RBIs.

As a team, the Braves are 11th in the league in scoring at 4.5 runs per game. They are also among the league leaders in batting average, on-base percentage, and slugging. Atlanta’s offense has been playing well of late, as Austin Riley has two homers in his last five games and is batting .263 in that stretch.