The San Diego Padres (76-60) and Tampa Bay Rays (66-67) open a 3-game set at Tropicana Field Friday. First pitch is scheduled for 6:50 p.m. ET (Apple TV). Let’s analyze BetMGM Sportsbook’s'lines around the Padres vs. Rays odds and make our expert MLB picks and predictions for the best bets.
Season series: First meeting; Padres won 2-1 last year
The Padres split a 4-game set at the St. Louis Cardinals. They wrapped up the series with a 4-1 loss as +101 underdogs Thursday with the Under (7.5) hitting. San Diego is in the 2nd NL Wild Card spot, 2 games ahead of the Atlanta Braves.
The Rays are coming off a 2-1 series loss at the Seattle Mariners. They lost 6-2 in the Wednesday finale as the Over (6.5) cashed. Tampa Bay is 6 games back of the Minnesota Twins for the final AL Wild Card and has just a 1.8% chance to make the playoffs, according to FanGraphs.com.