Philadelphia Phillies vs Tampa Bay Rays Prediction, Preview and Odds - 07/06/2023

Game Time: 6:40 pm ET, Thursday, July 6, 2023

Venue:  Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, FL

Where to Watch:  BSSUN

DraftKings:  Moneyline odds:  Phillies +120, Rays -140; Over/Under:  9 runs

Bet365:  Moneyline odds:  Phillies +115, Rays -135; Over/Under:  9 runs

BetMGM:  Moneyline odds:  Phillies +105, Rays -130; Over/Under:  9 runs

Philadelphia Phillies:  45-39 (3rd place, NL East)

Tampa Bay Rays:  57-31 (1st place, AL East)

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Philadelphia Phillies:  7-3 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 45-39 record overall and have a road record of 23-23. This is the series finale of a 3-game series with the Rays on Thursday with the 2nd game of this series still to be played on Wednesday. They also won the series opener of this series on Tuesday. Their offense ranks 10th in the MLB with a .744 OPS. Taijuan Walker is their starting pitcher on Wednesday while Cristopher Sánchez is making his start in this game on Thursday. He is 0-2 with a 3.26 ERA this season. His team lost their last 2 straight games this season with him making an appearance. In his last MLB regular season start, he allowed 1 ER, 1 HR, and 1 BB with 6 Ks on 7 hits through 6 IP against the Washington Nationals.

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 57-31 record overall and have a home record of 34-11. This is the 3rd game of a 3-game series with the Phillies on Thursday with the 2nd game of this series still to be played on Wednesday. They also lost the 1st game of this series on Tuesday. Their offense ranks 3rd in the MLB with a .793 OPS. Zack Littell is their starting pitcher on Wednesday while Shawn Armstrong is making his start in this game on Thursday. He is 0-0 with a 1.15 ERA this season. His team lost 2 of their last 3 games this season with him making an appearance. In his last MLB regular season start, he allowed 0 earned runs, 0 homers, and 0 BB with 1 strikeout on 1 hit through 2 innings played against the Minnesota Twins.

The current betting odds have the Phillies listed as a slight underdog in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. The Phillies have been red hot lately as their offense has been putting up a ton of runs in their games and they have been rolling through their road games as they are looking to surge up the standings now. The Rays may have one of the best records and one of the best offenses in the MLB this season, but they haven't been playing great lately and the Phillies will take advantage of them here while they are not at their best. The Phillies have Sanchez starting here and he has been a solid starter for them in his starts lately since he hasn't been giving up many runs at all. The Rays have Armstrong starting though and he hasn't really been a starter this season except for 1 game where he served more as an opener so this will likely be a bullpen game for the Rays but their bullpen has also been giving up a ton of runs lately. The Phillies are hot right now and they are going to continue rolling over the Rays as the Rays are in this mini slump of theirs. The best way to place a bet here is on the Phillies to win this game.

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

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Philadelphia Phillies: 15-23 (-11.9 units) on the moneyline after 2 or more consecutive road games. 27-29 (-10.3 units) on the moneyline when the total is 8.5 to 10. 8-4 OVER after a game where they had at least 10 more hits than their opponent. 51-32 OVER after a win by 4 runs or more.

Tampa Bay Rays: 57-32 (+13.4 units) on the moneyline in all games. 35-10 (+15.3 units) on the moneyline as a favorite of -150 or more. 9-2 OVER after a game where the bullpen threw 7 or more innings. 30-15 OVER in home games.

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

Tampa Bay Rays:  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.

“Now we’re going to try and get him out there almost on a daily basis.” - Rob Thomson on Bryce Harper after his team’s win against the Rays in their game on Tuesday.

“There’s just a bunch of tremendous people over there, and on top of that, I got to pitch against my best friend. So as good as he did, it would have been nice to win the game, but I’m super happy for him.” - Zach Eflin after their loss against the Phillies in their game on Tuesday.

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

Yandy Diaz (R) 1B

Wander Franco (S) SS

Luke Raley (L) DH

Randy Arozarena (R) LF

Isaac Paredes (R) 3B

Brandon Lowe (L) 2B

Jose Siri (R) CF

Christian Bethancourt (R) C

Josh Lowe (L) RF

Batting Average:  Nick Castellanos (.312)

Hits:  Nick Castellanos (101)

Home Runs:  Kyle Schwarber (22)

RBI:  Alec Bohm (55)

Stolen Bases:  Trea Turner (18)

Wins:  Taijuan Walker (9)

Saves:  Craig Kimbrel (13)

ERA:  Jose Alvarado (1.44)

Batting Average:  Yandy Diaz (.313)

Hits:  Wander Franco (92)

Home Runs:  Jose Siri (16)

RBI:  Randy Arozarena (58)

Stolen Bases:  Wander Franco (27)

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)