It’s been a rough few days for the division-leading Tampa Bay Rays (49-22), and now they’ll have fight just to split their four-game set with the Oakland Athletics (19-51). First pitch of the series finale on Thursday afternoon is set for 3:37 p.m. ET from Oakland Coliseum. Rookie Taj Bradley (4-3, 4.19 ERA) will take the hill for Tampa, while Paul Blackburn (0-0, 3.60 ERA) makes his fourth start of the year for the A’s.
The Rays are heavy -205 moneyline favorites on DraftKings Sportsbook, making Oakland the +175 underdogs with the over/under set at nine.
Rays-Athletics picks: Thursday, June 15th
Injury report
Rays
Out: RP Calvin Faucher (elbow), 2B Brandon Lowe (back), SP Josh Fleming (elbow), RP Pete Fairbanks (hip), SP Drew Rasmussen (forearm), RP Garrett Cleavinger (knee), RP Jeffrey Springs (elbow), SP Shane Baz (elbow), RP Andrew Kittredge (elbow)
Athletics
Out: RP Zach Jackson (forearm), SP Drew Rucinski (illness), SP Mason Miller (forearm), RP Dany Jiminez (shoulder), SP Freddy Tarnok (shoulder), RP Kirby Snead (shoulder), C Manny Pina (wrist)
Starting pitchers
Taj Bradley vs. Paul Blackburn
Bradley will make the ninth start of his rookie season and while most of them have gone well, we’ve seen some inconsistency as many first-year players experience. Bradley allowed seven runs (six earned) over 8.2 innings of work in his last two starts against the Texas Rangers and Boston Red Sox.
Blackburn will make his fourth start of 2023, with two strong outings and one poor appearance among his first three. The righty is coming off an excellent performance over the weekend when he threw six scoreless innings on four hits and a walk with five strikeouts in a victory over the Milwaukee Brewers.
Over/Under pick
The Athletics have been on a roll recently, but the production hasn’t come from the offense. The A’s scored five or fewer runs in five of their last six games, and with the Rays’ typically-fearsome lineup slowing down as well of late, the total will struggle to reach this number in this spot.
Pick: Under 9
Moneyline pick
If you’re feeling weird on a Thursday afternoon, this wouldn’t be a bad spot to take the Athletics as underdogs. They’ve been historically bad this season but had reeled off a seven-game winning streak prior to their loss on Wednesday night. The pitching matchup is fairly even and may even favor the A’s given Blackburn’s recent form, and Tampa’s bats have been silent recently.
Pick: Athletics