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The Tampa Bay Rays and Oakland Athletics square off on Monday with first pitch set for 9:40 p.m. ET. The game takes place at Oakland Coliseum in Oakland, CA and will only be available on local TV or through an MLB.tv subscription. The Rays will start Drew Rasmussen (1-1, 3.50 ERA), while the Athletics will have Daulton Jefferies (1-3, 3.26 ERA) on the mound.
The Rays (12-10) are coming off a rough weekend series against the Minnesota Twins, where they lost two out of three and outscored 18-4 in the final two games. Tampa Bay will need Wander Franco to ignite the offense after he missed Sunday’s game with a right hamstring tightness. This season, Franco is slashing .313/.333/.578 with four home runs and 13 RBI.
The Athletics (10-12) have lost four out of their last five games and swept in three games by the Cleveland Guardians over the weekend. If the A’s want to get back into the win column, they’ll need Sean Murphy to produce, who struggled in his last five games. When these two teams played last month, Murphy hit two home runs and drove in six RBI.
Rays vs. A’s
Pitchers: Drew Rasmussen vs. Daulton Jefferies
First pitch: 9:40 p.m. ET
Rays local broadcast: Bally Sports Sun
Athletics local broadcast: NBC Sports California
Live stream: MLB.tv (subscription)
Moneyline odds: Rays -160, Athletics +140
Picks & predictions
Moneyline pick: Rays -160
The Rays are looking to get some revenge on the Athletics after Oakland took three out four games last month in Tampa. Tampa Bay will have Rasmussen on the mound, who is coming off of an impressive start against the Mariners. The 26-year-old only allowed two hits and a walk in six innings pitched. In the games that Rasmussen starts this season, the Rays are 3-1.
As for the Athletics, they’ll give the ball to Jefferies, who struggled in his last outing against the Giants. San Francisco tagged him for four hits, five earned runs (1 HR), and two walks in four innings pitched. Tampa Bay will have Franco back in the lineup tonight, which should help them pick up the win.
Player prop pick: Randy Arozarena over 0.5 home runs (+475)
Arozarena has not hit a home run yet this season, which is crazy to think about. The 27-year-old outfielder is hitting .210 with five RBI. He had a good game on Sunday afternoon against the Minnesota Twins, going 2-for-4 at the plate with two doubles and a RBI. Arozarena might be turning it around, which is what this Rays’ offense needs.
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