Atlanta Braves vs Tampa Bay Rays Prediction, Preview and Odds - 07/09/2023

Game Time: 1:40 pm ET, Sunday, July 9, 2023

Venue:  Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, FL

Where to Watch:  MLB Network

DraftKings:  Moneyline odds:  Braves +100, Rays -120; Over/Under:  8.5 runs

Bet365:  Moneyline odds:  Braves +100, Rays -120; Over/Under:  8.5 runs

BetMGM:  Moneyline odds:  Braves +100, Rays -120; Over/Under:  8.5 runs

Atlanta Braves:  59-28 (1st place, NL East)

Tampa Bay Rays:  57-34 (1st place, AL East)

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Atlanta Braves:  9-1 last 10

Tampa Bay Rays:  3-7 last 10

The Braves are entering this series off of a win and won their 3-game series against the Cleveland Guardians 2-1 in their last series. They enter this game with a 59-28 record overall and have a road record of 29-13. This is the series finale of a 3-game series with the Rays on Sunday with the 2nd game of this series still to be played on Saturday. They also won the series opener of this series on Friday. Their offense ranks 1st in the MLB with a .836 OPS. Spencer Strider is their starting pitcher on Saturday while Bryce Elder is making his start in this game on Sunday. He is 7-1 with a 2.45 ERA this season. His team won their last 4 straight games this season with him making an appearance. In his last MLB regular season start, he allowed 2 ER, 0 HR, and 2 BB with 1 K on 7 hits through 6.2 IP against the Cleveland Guardians.

The Rays are entering this series on a 5 game losing streak and got swept 3-0 in their 3-game series against the Philadelphia Phillies in their last series. They enter this game with a 57-34 record overall and have a home record of 34-14. This is the 3rd game of a 3-game series with the Braves on Sunday with the 2nd game of this series still to be played on Saturday. They also lost the 1st game of this series on Friday. Their offense ranks 3rd in the MLB with a .786 OPS. Rookie pitcher Taj Bradley is their starting pitcher on Saturday while Zach Eflin is making his start in this game on Sunday. He is 9-4 with a 3.24 ERA this season. His team won 2 of their last 3 games this season with him making an appearance. In his last MLB regular season start, he allowed 2 earned runs, 0 homers, and 0 BB with 9 strikeouts on 4 hits through 7 innings played against the Philadelphia Phillies.

The current betting odds have the Braves listed as a slight underdog in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. The Braves have been rolling in their games lately, they now have the best record in the MLB and the best offense. These are the 2 best teams in the MLB right now but the Rays have been the best all season and are now just starting to fade a bit while the Braves have been surging lately and are only getting stronger in each game. The Braves also have Elder starting in this game and he has been really good all season since he hasn't given up many runs in any of his starts all year. He has been pitching really well in his starts lately and he will be able to shut down this Rays offense that hasn't been at it's best lately. The Rays are going with Eflin here and he has also been a solid starter for them this season but he hasn't really been lights out in a lot of his starts as he has been pitching well but still giving up a few runs in his starts. He is going to get himself into trouble here with how hot this Braves offense has been and the Braves will make sure to take advantage of the scoring opportunities they get here. The best way to place a bet here is on the Braves to win this game.

Braves Rays Prediction:  Our MLB Pick for Sunday, July 9, 2023 (1:40 pm ET start time) is Braves 4 Rays 2.

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Atlanta Braves: 59-28 (+18 units) on the moneyline in all games. 29-13 (+10.4 units) on the moneyline in road games. BRYCE ELDER is 19-7 UNDER in all games and 11-1 UNDER in road games.

Tampa Bay Rays: 84-92 (-8.7 units) on the moneyline when the money line is +125 to -125. 85-72 (-6.6 units) on the moneyline when the total is 8 to 8.5. ZACH EFLIN is 8-2 UNDER when the total is 8 to 8.5 and 6-3 UNDER in an inter-league game.

Atlanta Braves:  D. Lee (SP) Late July - Shoulder. M. Fried (SP) Late July - Forearm. E. Adrianza (2B) Mid July - Shoulder. J. Chavez (RP) Mid July - Shin. K. Wright (SP) Mid Aug - Shoulder. T. Matzek (RP) out for season - Elbow. H. Ynoa (SP) out for season - Elbow.

Tampa Bay Rays:  T. Glasnow (SP) day-to-day - Hand. S. McClanahan (SP) Out indefinitely - Back. J. Fleming (SP) Late July - Elbow. A. Kittredge (RP) Early Aug - Elbow. D. Rasmussen (RP) Early Aug - Elbow. G. Cleavinger (RP) out for season - Knee. J. Springs (RP) out for season - Elbow. S. Baz (SP) out for season - Elbow.

“It’s about winning the game. I don’t care how you do it. Against that pitching you’re not going to bunch a lot of hits together. We were just fortunate that Sean got into that one and it was enough.” - Brian Snitker after his team’s win against the Rays in their game on Friday.

“You’d like to see him get rewarded for it. He came out of the ballgame because he just kind of had cramps in both hands, both quads. We’ve seen it before, it kind of creeps in a little bit. He wanted to keep going.” - Kevin Cash after his team’s loss against the Braves in their game on Friday.

Ronald Acuna Jr. (R) RF

Ozzie Albies (S) 2B

Austin Riley (R) 3B

Matt Olson (L) 1B

Sean Murphy (R) C

Marcell Ozuna (R) DH

Eddie Rosario (L) LF

Orlando Arcia (R) SS

Michael Harris II (L) CF

Yandy Diaz (R) 1B

Wander Franco (S) SS

Josh Lowe (L) RF

Randy Arozarena (R) LF

Harold Ramirez (R) DH

Brandon Lowe (L) 2B

Isaac Paredes (R) 3B

Jose Siri (R) CF

Christian Bethancourt (R) C

Batting Average:  Ronald Acuna (.333)

Hits:  Ronald Acuna (117)

Home Runs:  Matt Olson (29)

RBI:  Matt Olson (70)

Stolen Bases:  Ronald Acuna (41)

Wins:  Spencer Strider (10)

Saves:  Raisel Iglesias (16)

ERA:  Dereck Rodriguez (0.00)

Batting Average:  Yandy Diaz (.316)

Hits:  Wander Franco (95)

Home Runs:  Jose Siri (16)

RBI:  Randy Arozarena (58)

Stolen Bases:  Wander Franco (28)

Wins:  Shane McClanahan (11)

Saves:  Jason Adam (11)

ERA:  Chase Anderson (0.00)

Managers:

Atlanta Braves: Brian Snitker (8th season)

Tampa Bay Rays: Kevin Cash (9th season)