MLB Picks 5/10 – Tampa Bay Rays @ Baltimore Orioles

MLB Picks 5/10 – Tampa Bay Rays @ Baltimore Orioles

by Thomas Quaynor – MLB analyst for Wannamakeabet.com

The Tampa Bay Rays (29-8) conclude a three-game series on the road against the Baltimore Orioles (23-13) tonight in a battle of two of the baseball’s best teams. Tampa currently has the best record in baseball and Baltimore is third. The teams split the first two games of the series with Tampa winning 3-0 on Monday and Baltimore winning 4-2 last night. Tonight’s starting pitchers are Jalen Beeks (1-2,  ERA) for Tampa and Dean Kremer (3-1, 5.80 ERA) for Baltimore.

Tampa Bay and Baltimore rank among the bottom five teams in payroll and feature two of the youngest hitting lineups in baseball which means both teams could be elite for the next several years. 

GAME ODDS

Moneyline: Tampa Bay – 132, Baltimore + 112

Run Line: Tampa Bay -1.5 (+122), Baltimore+1.5 (-140)

Run Total: over 9 (-115)  under 9 (-105)

GAME STORYLINES

The Tampa Bay Rays started the season 13-0 and have not looked back as they’ve owned the best record in baseball since opening day. Tampa is also on pace for a historic statistical season when you consider they lead all of baseball in batting average, home runs, runs batted in and earned run average. They’ve scored the most runs (230) and given up the fewest (114).  

Tampa Bay possesses a lineup in which nine players have hit 6 or more homers, so there are no easy outs for opposing pitchers. Left fielder Randy Arozarena leads Tampa’s offensive onslaught with a .321 batting average along with 9 homers and 30 RBI. Arozarena has reached base in 20 straight games. First baseman Yandy Diaz has also hit 9 homers, he’s 5 away from matching his career high. 22-year-old shortstop Wander Franco is batting .310 with 7 homers, his 22 RBI ranks second on the team. 

From 2018 through 2021, the Baltimore Orioles were the worst franchise in baseball, bottoming out at 47-118 in 2018. Last season, it appeared as if the Orioles were heading towards another dismal season when they started 24-35, but a torrid 47-26 stretch from mid-June to early September put them at 71-61 and in the hunt for a wild card berth. The Orioles finished 83-79 in 2022 (a 31-game improvement over 2021) and narrowly missed out on securing a wild card spot. The fantastic play to end the last season has carried over to this season as the Orioles have established themselves as one of the best teams in baseball with a 23-13 record.

Baltimore is among the better hitting teams in baseball as they have 5 players who have driven in 20 or more runs. First baseman Ryan Mountcastle leads the team with 8 homers, he’s batting .258 and has 26 RBI. 25-year-old catcher Adley Rutschman (the number one overall pick in the 2019 draft) has 5 homers and 20 RBI. Shortstop Jorge Mateo is hitting .293 with 6 homers and 20 RBI, he’s also added 12 stolen bases on 14 tries.  

THE PICK

These teams split the first two games of the series, so I’m picking the better team to win the rubber match.