MLB Handicapping: Rays vs Athletics

Courtesy of OddsShark.com: The Tampa Bay Rays and the Oakland Athletics will both be trying to pick up a win on Friday when they battle at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. The Rays will pin their hopes on the pitching of lefthander David Price in this game. Price has a 3-1 record and a 2.34 ERA this season. Price's opponent in this one will be Gio Gonzalez. The Athletics lefthander has a 3.45 ERA to go along with a 3-1 record this season. Oddsmakers currently have the Rays listed as 160-moneyline favorites versus the Athletics, while the game's total has not yet been posted. The Rays completed a three-game sweep of the Mariners with an 8-0 win in the series finale on Thursday, as -145 favorites. The eight runs went as a PUSH against the posted over/under (8) set by sportsbooks. Jeff Niemann pitched seven scoreless innings for the win, striking out six batters along the way for the Rays. Daric Barton had two hits and drove in one run to lead the A's in a 4-1 win over the Rangers last time out, as +125 underdogs. The teams played UNDER the posted over/under (8.5) set by sportsbooks. Trevor Cahill allowed one earned run over five innings in the win, and Andrew Bailey notched his fifth save. Current streak: Tampa Bay has won 4 straight games. Oakland has won 2 straight games. Team records: Tampa Bay: 21-7 SU Oakland: 15-14 SU Tampa Bay most recently: When playing on Friday are 3-7 Before playing Oakland are 6-4 After playing Seattle are 6-4 After a win are 8-2 Oakland most recently: When playing on Friday are 7-3 Before playing Tampa Bay are 5-5 After playing Texas are 9-1 After a win are 5-5 A few trends to consider: Tampa Bay is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games on the road The total has gone OVER in 6 of Tampa Bay's last 7 games when playing Oakland Tampa Bay is 9-2 SU in its last 11 games Tampa Bay is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games when playing Oakland The total has gone OVER in 6 of Oakland's last 7 games when playing Tampa Bay Oakland is 5-2 SU in its last 7 games at home The total has gone OVER in 7 of Oakland's last 10 games The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Oakland's last 6 games when playing at home against Tampa Bay Next up: Oakland home to Tampa Bay, Saturday, May 8 Stevie Vincent is literally 20-25 years ahead of the oddsmakers and they will be the first to admit. His forensic sports handicapping is groundbreaking and there is nothing the books have been able to do to stop him.