Oakland A's at Tampa Bay Rays odds, picks and predictions (2024)

The Oakland A’s (23-34) and Tampa Bay Rays (27-29) wrap up a 3-game series Thursday at Tropicana Field. First pitch is scheduled for 1:10 p.m. ET (MLB Network). Let’s analyze FanDuel Sportsbook’slines around the A’s vs. Rays odds and make our expert MLB picks and predictions for the best bets.

Season series: Tied 1-1

After losing 4-3 to the Rays on Wednesday, the A’s have alternated losses and wins in the past 9 games since May 19. The Under has cashed in 4 consecutive games.

Oakland has dropped 9 of the past 10 games on the road, while cashing the Under at a 4-0-1 clip in the past 5 outings away from home.

The Rays has won 2 of the past 3 games after halting a 5-game losing skid on Sunday. The total has gone low in each of the past 3 games, while cashing at a 6-2 clip across the previous 8 outings.

A’s at Rays projected starters

LHP Kyle Muller vs. RHP Shawn Armstrong

Muller (0-1, 3.48 ERA) makes his 1st start and 14th appearance. He has a 1.19 WHIP, 1.9 BB/9 and 6.4 K/9 in 33 2/3 IP.

• Last start: No-decision, 4 IP, 3 ER, 5 H, 1 HR, 1 BB, 3 K in 10-6 home win vs. Los Angeles Angels on Sept. 3, 2023 (78 pitches)
• 2024 road splits: 0-0, 3.95 ERA (13 2/3 IP, 6 ER), 1.24 WHIP, .286 opponents’ batting average (OBA), 4 HR, 1 BB, 8 K in 6 relief appearances

Armstrong (1-1, 3.91 ERA, 1 SV) makes his 5th start and 21st appearance. He has a 1.22 WHIP, 3.2 BB/9 and 10.7 K/9 in 25 1/3 IP.

• Last start: No-decision, 2 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 3 K in 8-1 home loss vs. Kansas City Royals last Friday
• 2024 home splits: 1-1, 4.91 ERA (18 1/3 IP, 10 ER), 1.31 WHIP, .254 OBA, 3 HR, 6 BB, 21 K in 4 starts and 10 relief appearances

Win your fantasy baseball league with BaseballHQ.com. For decades, BHQ has been helping players just like you win! BHQ offers Draft Prep and full-season subscriptions. Sign up today and start winning!

A’s at Rays odds

Provided by FanDuel Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 6:31 a.m. ET.

• Moneyline (ML): A’s +122 (bet $100 to win $122) | Rays -144 (bet $144 to win $100)
• Run line (RL)/Against the spread (ATS): A’s +1.5 (-182) | Rays -1.5 (+150)
• Over/Under (O/U): 8 (O: -122 | U: +100)

A’s at Rays picks and predictions

Prediction

Rays 4, Athletics 3

Moneyline

The RAYS (-144) are a strong play behind Armstrong in the series finale.

The Athletics (+122) won the series opener in a shutout, but they’re still just 1-9 across the past 10 games on the road. Oakland has a pitching quandary, and it is forced to use Muller as an opener. That isn’t exactly a terrible thing, as the Oakland bullpen has been surprisingly good with a 3.43 ERA, 6th-best in the majors, according to covers.com. However, the ‘pen coughed up 3 runs in just 3 1/3 IP on Wednesday.

Look to Tampa to get the job done on getaway day.

Run line/Against the spread

The Athletics +1.5 (-182) will cost you nearly 2 times your potential return, if you would rather trust Oakland and its bullpen to keep things close in the finale. However, that’s quite a bit of risk with too little reward.

PASS, and look to the moneyline instead.

Over/Under

UNDER 8 (+100) is the lean in this daytime battle in St. Pete.

The Under has cashed in each of the 1st 2 games in this series, with an average of 5.0 combined runs per game in the 2 outings.

The A’s have gone low at a 6-1-1 clip in the past 8 games on the road, while the Rays are 5-2 to the Under in the past 7 on their home turf.

Play our free daily Pick’em Challenge and win! Play now!

For more sports betting picks and tips, check out SportsbookWire.com and BetFTW.

Follow Kevin J. Erickson on Twitter/X. Follow SportsbookWire on Twitter/X and like us on Facebook.

Additional MLB coverage:
BaseballHQ Fantasy Baseball