Arizona (69-53) is red hot as they head to Tropicana Field for the August 16th Diamondbacks at Rays betting matchup. The Dodgers thought they’d run away with the NL West with the 2nd most wins in baseball, but both the DBacks and Padres are within 2 games of L.A. and don’t seem like they are going anywhere.
Tampa Bay (59-61) on the other hand is not hot (except temperature wise) as they’ve dropped 7 of their last 9. The Rays are just 1-5 on their current home stand, but they’ve also played first place teams in the Orioles and Astros. TB is the slight -105 favorite here, but oddsmakers are saying this one could go either way (ARZ -103).
Why the Diamondbacks Have Value on Friday
Arizona is red hot – they have to be to keep pace in the highly competitive NL West. The Diamondbacks just swept the Rockies scoring 20 runs over a three game series, and not even at Coors Field. Prior to that the D’Backs took three of four from the 1st place Phillies, scoring 23 runs in the last two games alone.
What makes Arizona so dangerous right now is that they aren’t just riding one hot bat, as it seems like the whole lineup is on fire. Jake McCarthy is hitting .440 over the past week, Adrian Del Castillo is on a .412 clip over the last five, and six other batters are over .300 for the Diamondbacks this week.
While the offense is dialed in, there is one question for Arizona and it’s a big one as they have yet to name the starting pitcher for Friday night’s opener. Ryne Nelson is up in the rotation, but with the return of Merrill Kelly and Eduardo Rodriguez from the IL this week, it’s not sure whether the Diamondbacks will go with a 6-man unit or not. Nelson would be a good option coming off 7.1 IP of 2 ER ball against the Phillies, but you don’t want to throw the rest of the staff off schedule either.
Why the Rays Have Value on Friday
It’s not sure who Arizona is going to send to the mound on Friday, so that has to be considered a good thing for a Rays team that needs an offensive break. Then again, maybe everybody on the Diamondbacks staff is clamoring to face a Tampa Bay team that has been held to 2 runs or less in five of their last six.
The Rays haven’t been completely stagnant on offense, as both Jose Caballerro and Taylor Walls are both hitting .333 over the past week. If the Diamondbacks do send Nelson to the bump, although he had a good start last time he has also allowed 4ER in each of his last two road starts.
The Rays know who their starter is as Ryan Pepiot (6-5, 3.92 ERA) takes the mound on Friday. He’s got some question marks as well though coming off the 15-day IL with a knee injury. Pepiot did have a 1.72 ERA in three July starts, so if he can get back to that form the Rays will be fine.
Free August 16th Diamondbacks at Rays Betting Pick
Arizona looks like a very easy play here which does raise a bit of a red flag. The Diamondbacks have yet to name a pitcher, but it probably won’t matter against this Rays offense that is absolutely hard to watch the past week.
Free Pick: Diamondbacks -103
