Philadelphia Phillies vs Tampa Bay Rays Prediction, Preview and Odds - 07/05/2023

Game Time: 6:40 pm ET, Wednesday, July 5, 2023

Venue:  Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, FL

Where to Watch:  MLB Network

DraftKings:  Moneyline odds:  Phillies -105, Rays -115; Over/Under:  8 runs

Bet365:  Moneyline odds:  Phillies -105, Rays -115; Over/Under:  8 runs

BetMGM:  Moneyline odds:  Phillies -105, Rays -115; Over/Under:  8 runs

Philadelphia Phillies:  44-39 (3rd place, NL East)

Tampa Bay Rays:  57-30 (1st place, AL East)

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Philadelphia Phillies:  6-4 last 10

Tampa Bay Rays:  5-5 last 10

The Phillies are entering this series off of a loss and lost their 3-game series against the Washington Nationals 2-1 in their last series. They enter this game with a 44-39 record overall and have a road record of 22-23. This is the 2nd game of a 3-game series with the Rays on Wednesday with the series opener of this series still to be played on Tuesday. Their offense ranks 10th in the MLB with a .747 OPS. Aaron Nola is their starting pitcher on Tuesday while Taijuan Walker is making his start in this game on Wednesday. He is 9-3 with a 3.93 ERA this season. His team won their last 5 straight games this season with him making an appearance. In his last MLB regular season start, he allowed 1 ER, 0 HR, and 1 BB with 6 Ks on 6 hits through 6 IP against the Chicago Cubs.

The Rays are entering this series on a 2 game losing streak and lost their 3-game series against the Seattle Mariners 2-1 in their last series. They enter this game with a 57-30 record overall and have a home record of 34-10. This is the 2nd game of a 3-game series with the Phillies on Wednesday with the 1st game of this series still to be played on Tuesday. Their offense ranks 3rd in the MLB with a .798 OPS. Zach Eflin is their starting pitcher on Tuesday while Yonny Chirinos is making his start in this game on Wednesday. He is 4-3 with a 3.64 ERA this season. His team lost 3 of their last 4 games this season with him making an appearance. In his last MLB regular season start, he allowed 1 earned run, 1 homer, and 3 BB with 4 strikeouts on 7 hits through 6 innings played against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

The current betting odds have the Phillies listed as a slight underdog in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. The Phillies have been getting hot lately winning a lot of their games and their offense has also been great. The Rays have one of the best offenses in the league and also one of the best records, but they weren't great over the weekend and the Phillies can take advantage of that in this series. The Phillies have Walker on the mound here and he has been pitching really well in his starts lately, not giving up many runs at all. He will be able to shut down this Rays lineup that hasn't been putting up a ton of runs in their games lately. The Rays have Chirinos starting here and he is coming off a great start in his last one but he hasn't been great in a lot of his starts lately and he will be at risk of giving up a lot of runs with this Phillies offense getting hot now. The Phillies started to go on a big run around the same time last season and they are going to be looking to do the same now that they have some momentum behind them. The best way to place a bet here is on the Phillies to win this game.

Phillies Rays Prediction:  Our MLB Pick for Wednesday, July 5, 2023 (6:40 pm ET start time) is Phillies 4 Rays 2.

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Philadelphia Phillies: 7-14 (-7.4 units) on the moneyline on the road when the money line is +125 to -125. 28-27 (-6.2 units) on the moneyline against right-handed starters. TAIJUAN WALKER is 8-2 OVER against AL East opponents and 8-2 OVER in July games.

Tampa Bay Rays: 57-30 (+16 units) on the moneyline in all games. 34-10 (+17.9 units) on the moneyline in home games. 29-14 OVER in home games. 19-10 OVER against NL East opponents.

Philadelphia Phillies:  N. Song (SP) Mid July - Back. S. Dominguez (RP) Mid July - Oblique. R. Hoskins (1B) out for season - Knee.

Tampa Bay Rays:  I. Paredes (3B) Ques Tues - Ribs. S. McClanahan (SP) Out indefinitely - Back. B. Lowe (2B) Mid July - 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.

“When you've got them down, you've got to put the hammer down." - Rob Thomson after his team’s loss against the Nationals in their game on Sunday.

“(I would) like to think that if we’re in that position again, we’ll find a way to win.” - Kevin Cash after his team’s loss against the Mariners in their game on Sunday.

Kyle Schwarber (L) LF

Trea Turner (R) SS

Nick Castellanos (R) RF

Bryce Harper (L) DH

J.T. Realmuto (R) C

Bryson Stott (L) 2B

Alec Bohm (R) 3B

Darick Hall (L) 1B

Brandon Marsh (L) CF

Josh Lowe (L) RF

Wander Franco (S) SS

Randy Arozarena (R) LF

Luke Raley (L) 1B

Harold Ramirez (R) DH

Isaac Paredes (R) 3B

Francisco Mejia (S) C

Manuel Margot (R) CF

Vidal Brujan (S) 2B

Batting Average:  Nick Castellanos (.316)

Hits:  Nick Castellanos (101)

Home Runs:  Kyle Schwarber (22)

RBI:  Alec Bohm (54)

Stolen Bases:  Trea Turner (18)

Wins:  Taijuan Walker (9)

Saves:  Craig Kimbrel (12)

ERA:  Jose Alvarado (1.48)

Batting Average:  Yandy Diaz (.318)

Hits:  Wander Franco (90)

Home Runs:  Jose Siri (16)

RBI:  Randy Arozarena (58)

Stolen Bases:  Wander Franco (26)

Wins:  Shane McClanahan (11)

Saves:  Jason Adam (11)

ERA:  Chase Anderson (0.00)

Managers:

Philadelphia Phillies: Rob Thomson (2nd season)

Tampa Bay Rays: Kevin Cash (9th season)