Rays vs. Orioles: Picks, predictions, how to watch Friday’s game

The Tampa Bay Rays and Baltimore Orioles square off on Friday with first pitch set for 6:05 p.m. ET. The game takes place at Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore, Maryland and will be available to watch on ESPN+. Shane Baz will start for the Rays with Dean Kremer on the mound for the Orioles.

Tampa Bay (35-28) lost five of its last six games and was swept by the New York Yankees earlier this week. Baz is celebrating his 23rd birthday on Friday and will make his second start of the season, coming off an outing where he allowed 5 runs on 3 hits and 3 walks over 2.1 innings in a loss to the Minnesota Twins. The Rays scored just 4 runs in their series with the Yankees, and Yandy Diaz will enter this matchup with the team’s highest on-base percentage (.395).

Baltimore (28-37) won two of three games over the Toronto Blue Jays earlier this week heading into this series. Kremer will make his third start of the season after being activated from the injured list and allowed 5 runs (4 earned) over 9.1 innings over his first two starts. Trey Mancini has gotten off to a solid start with a .373 on-base percentage and .290 batting average but hasn’t played since Monday with a hand injury.

Rays vs. Orioles

Pitchers: Shane Baz vs. Dean Kremer
First pitch: 6:05 p.m. ET
Rays local broadcast: Bally Sports Sun
Orioles local broadcast: MASN 2
Live stream: WatchESPN, ESPN app with an ESPN+ subscription

Odds, picks & predictions

Run line: Rays -1.5 (+105)
Run total: 8.5
Moneyline odds: Rays -155, Orioles +135

Moneyline pick: Orioles +135

Neither pitcher has a ton of MLB experience, making this one fairly unpredictable. With that said, let’s go with the team getting the higher payout in this matchup. Both offenses have struggled this season and rank in the bottom 10 in runs per game. Baltimore is worth a bet given the return you’d receive with a victory.

Player prop pick: Shane Baz Over 4.5 (+110)

The Tampa Bay starter will make his fourth career MLB start and is ready to get that birthday bump. I have no idea if players actually do better on their birthday, but I do know Baz will get a matchup with an Orioles offense that averages the fifth-most strikeouts per game (9.0) this season. He is in a good position to surpass this total on Friday night.

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