In this article, we’ll provide you with our top picks and advice for the AL Wild Card Game, with the Rays at Athletics. We study the odds, betting lines, teams, and players to give you our recommended betting picks to beat the New Jersey bookies!
Tampa Bay Rays at Oakland Athletics (ML: -137) – O/U: 7.5
Wednesday, October 2nd, 2019 – 8:00 p.m. EST
Betting Pick: Under 7.5
Starting Pitchers
TB: Charlie Morton – R (16-6, 3.05 ERA/1.08 WHIP)
OAK: Sean Manaea – L (4-0, 1.21 ERA/0.78 WHIP)
The AL Wild Card Game is a fascinating matchup of teams with two of the lowest payrolls in MLB – A’s: 25th, TB: 30th. Oakland holds a slight 4-3 advantage in the season series, with five of the seven games have gone under the total. Our top pick is for the total to go under once again. Let’s dive into the fact and figures below to learn why this is our top betting pick.
Betting Lines Analysis: Rays at Athletics
Charlie Morton has been fantastic in the final month of the season, posting a 3-0 record and 2.73 ERA in a span of five starts (29 2/3 innings) – all Rays’ wins. Not to mention, Morton has absolutely owned the A’s in two starts this season, allowing only six hits, four walks and a lone run in two starts (13 1/3 innings). While his ERA on the road is a full run higher, the 8-3 record has been the same in both splits. The current A’s roster is only hitting .233 lifetime against Morton as well.
There’s a good chance we see the Rays’ bullpen for about three innings in this game. That’s great news for the total going under, considering they own the best bullpen ERA (3.71) in baseball.
Rays Betting Form
Charlie Morton has been fantastic in the final month of the season, posting a 3-0 record and 2.73 ERA in a span of five starts (29 2/3 innings) – all Rays’ wins. Not to mention, Morton has absolutely owned the A’s in two starts this season, allowing only six hits, four walks and a lone run in two starts (13 1/3 innings). While his ERA on the road is a full run higher, the 8-3 record has been the same in both splits. The current A’s roster is only hitting .233 lifetime against Morton as well.
There’s a good chance we see the Rays’ bullpen for about three innings in this game. That’s great news for the total going under, considering they own the best bullpen ERA (3.71) in baseball.
Athletics Betting Form
Sean Manaea returned to the A’s rotation at just the right time, and he looked fantastic in the process with a 4-0 record and 1.21 ERA/0.78 WHIP. Wednesday’s matchup against the Rays is a great move for the total going under, considering they were tied for having the highest strikeout-rate (25.7 percent) against left-handed pitching this season.
Much like the Rays’ bullpen, the A’s unit has been quite effective as well. Oakland’s bullpen has the sixth-best ERA (3.89) in all of baseball, and it’s almost a definite that we’ll see this unit utilized. Manaea has been kept under 100 pitches in all five of his starts this season, making his run of effective pitching even that more impressive.
Betting Pick: Under 7.5
All in all, we’re going to see some quality pitching in nearly every inning of this game. It certainly helps that we’ll be in one of the most pitcher-friendly parks in all of baseball and thick air near the bay should keep the ball-flight to a minimum. Not to mention, we’ve outlined plenty of factors and matchups that’ll keep this total from reaching that eight-run mark.
Bettors can find the best odds on this total at PlaySugarHouse. First-time customers can get up to a $250 deposit bonus when signing up for a new account.
