The Tampa Bay Rays and Atlanta Braves begin the second half of their season with an interleague battle Friday night. MLB betting lines have the Braves installed as -125 favorites for the first contest in a three-game set at Truist Park.
Here are our best free Rays vs. Braves picks and predictions for Friday, June 16.
Rays vs Braves game info
• Location: Truist Park, Atlanta, GA
• Date: Friday, July 16, 2021
• Time: 7:20 p.m. ET
• TV: Bally Sports Southeast, Bally Sports Sun
Rays vs Braves odds
Odds via the Covers Line, an average comprised of odds from multiple sportsbooks.
Compare MLB odds before betting to ensure you get the best number.
MLB sharp money and line movement report
By Patrick EversonAtlanta hit TwinSpires' odds board as a -130 favorite, stretched a few cents to -139 and is -136 at 4:45 p.m. ET. The Braves are seeing 60 percent of moneyline bets and 63 percent of moneyline dollars. The total opened at 9 (Over -110) and is now 8.5 (Over -124), with 65 percent of bets/68 percent of money on the Under.
Check out the full line movement for this gameRays vs Braves betting preview
Starting pitchers
Michael Wacha (2-2, 4.87 ERA): Wacha has been up-and-down in his first season with Tampa Bay, pitching to a 1.33 WHIP with an opponent batting average of .273 in 57 1-3 innings as a starter and reliever.
The right-hander isn't an innings-eater but he is coming off a season-high 90 pitches in a game against Cleveland where he allowed one run through six innings.
Charlie Morton (8-3, 3.64 ERA): Morton was an All-Star with Tampa Bay in 2019 and has been solid this season after signing a one-year contract with the Braves last November. The 37-year-old has pitched to a 1.10 WHIP while fanning 114 batters in 99 innings.
In his previous outing last Friday, Morton allowed just two hits in seven innings of shutout ball against the Marlins.
Weather
Be sure to monitor the gametime conditions with our MLB weather info.
Key injuries
Rays: Michael Brosseau 3B (Out), Manuel Margot CF (Out).
Braves: Ronald Acuna Jr. RF (Out), Marcell Ozuna LF (Out), Travis D'arnaud C (Out).
Find our latest MLB injury reports.
Betting trend to know
The Rays are 21-9 in their last 30 games against a right-handed starter. Find more MLB betting trends for Rays vs. Braves.
Moneyline pick
The Rays have a 53-37 record and are in one of MLB's best division races, just 1.5 games behind the Boston Red Sox for first place in the AL East. They went into the All-Star break having won six of their last seven games.
The Braves need to turn things around in the second half of the season if they want to repeat as NL East champions for the fourth year in a row. The Braves are one game below .500 and will now have to get by without MVP candidate Ronald Acuna Jr., who tore his ACL on Saturday.
The absence of Acuna and his .990 OPS is a huge blow to a Braves lineup that was already missing Marcell Ozuna. It won't be easy for them to keep up with a Rays team that has been mashing on the road, ranking third in the majors with 5.33 runs per game.
While Braves starter Charlie Morton has good overall numbers on the season, he hasn't looked great at home, pitching to a 4.21 ERA with an opponent batting average of .235 through 11 starts.
Rays starter Michael Wacha has pretty subpar numbers himself, but he typically only throws a few innings before making way for Tampa Bay's outstanding bullpen. Rays relievers are second in the majors in ERA (3.25) and WHIP (1.15).
The Braves also don't get it done in interleague matchups, going 3-13 in their last 16 games, including 1-8 in their previous nine interleague contests as a favorite. With the Rays 12-4 in their previous 16 games against NL East opponents, back them on the moneyline.
PREDICTION: ML Tampa Bay (+105)
Over/Under pick
We mentioned Morton's poor pitching numbers at home, but the truth is that runs have been scored at a rapid pace at Truist Park all season, regardless of who is pitching for either team.
Braves games at home see an average total of 10.05 runs per game, with Atlanta scoring 5.35 and surrendering 4.7. That's a massive difference from the average total of 8.35 runs per game in Atlanta's road contests.
The Rays have been the exact opposite, with their road games seeing an average of 10.04 runs per game, compared to the minuscule 7.62 runs/game in their home contests.
With such significant disparities in their home/away splits, it should come as little surprise that the Rays have been an Over machine on the road going 27-15-2 to the Over in their last 44 games (64.3 percent).
Meanwhile, the Braves have been profitable for Over bettors at Truist Park, going 26-17-3 O/U (60.5 percent) this season. Take the Over tonight.
PREDICTION: Over 8.5 (-112)
Rays vs Braves betting card
- ML Tampa Bay (+105)
- Over 8.5 (-112)
Picks made on 7/16/2021 at 8:30 a.m. ET
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