Friday, September 5, 2014

Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg

For Updated Odds on This Game Click Here

When the American League East leading Baltimore Orioles travel to Tropicana Field to take on the Tampa Bay Rays, they will send one of their best pitchers to the hill. Getting the start for the Orioles will be left-hander Wei-Yin Chen (14-4), while the Rays will counter with right-hander Alex Cobb (9-7).

Chen is in his third year with the Orioles and is by far having his best season. His ERA is currently at 3.83 and he has recorded 116 strikeouts in 155 innings. He has walked just 28 batters, limiting his WHIP to 1.25. In his past 10 starts dating back to the start of July, Chen has been remarkable. His ERA dropped from 4.19 and he has gone 7-1 during that time. In his career against members of the Rays roster, he has given up 47 hits in 175 at-bats with 7 hits allowed. Ben Zobrist has had the most success against him, going 12-for-32 with 1 home run and a .960 OPS.

For Wood, 2014 has been an interesting season. He is barely over .500, but his ERA is incredibly good (2.97), which would be eighth best in the AL if he had enough innings. In his past 10 starts, he has been remarkable for the Rays as they have been fighting to stay in playoff contention. He has a 5-1 record during that time and has not allowed more than 3 earned runs in a start since allowing 6 on June 23 against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Baltimore Orioles Betting Trends

Baltimore Orioles are 61-74-3 against the Over/Under

Run Differential for Baltimore Orioles is 0.6

Tampa Bay Rays Betting Trends

Tampa Bay Rays are 63-70-7 against the Over/Under

Run differential for Tampa Bay Rays is 0

Injuries to Watch

Baltimore Orioles

08/31/14 1B Steve Pearce Abdominal out indefinitely
08/22/14 3B Manny Machado Knee 60-day DL (8/12); out for season
06/17/14 C Matt Wieters Elbow 60-day DL (5/11), out for season
06/03/14 P Johan Santana Shoulder 60-day DL (6/2), out for season
04/03/14 P Edgmer Escalo Shoulder 60-day DL (3/30)
03/31/14 LF Francisco Peguero Wrist 15-day DL (3/21)

Tampa Bay Rays

09/04/14 CF Desmond Jennings Knee out indefinitely
06/24/14 LF Jerry Sands Wrist 60-day DL (6/22), out for season
04/08/14 P Matt Moore Elbow 60-day DL (4/8), out for season
03/30/14 2B Tim Beckham Knee 60-day DL (3/30)

Tony's Pick: Take Baltimore

Get $60 worth of FREE premium member picks. No Obligation. No Salesman. No Credit Card. Fast Sign up with Instant Access Click Here

Read more articles by Tony Sink