Philadelphia Phillies vs. Tampa Bay Rays Preview and Pick

Philadelphia Phillies (36-31) – Jamie Moyer +159, 9.5 O/U at Tampa Bay Rays (37-34) – David Price -169, 9.5 O/U, Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, Fla., 7:08 PM EST, Tuesday

by Badger of Predictem.com

The World Series Champion Philadelphia Phillies return to the scene of one of those wins when they travel to Tropicana Field to take on the runner-up Tampa Bay Rays in the opener of a three-game interleague series tonight.

The series opens with a old-school versus new-school pair of lefties on the bump too, as 46-year-old Phillies southpaw Jamie Moyer goes against the Rays exciting 23-year-old flamethrower David Price.

The Phillies are hoping the familiar setting of the Tropicana will bring back the good memories and good vibes, as they are neck-deep in a six-game losing streak after getting swept by Toronto and Baltimore in interleague action last week. The slide, their longest this season, continued Sunday with a tough 2-1 loss to Baltimore to conclude a cruddy 1-8 homestand for the Phillies.

But it’s not all gloom and doom for the champs. The Phillies still are in first-place in the NL East (1 ½ over NY Mets) and own an MLB- best 23-9 record on the road away from Citizens Bank Park, which includes a .273-team batting average on the road as well.

The Rays enter the interleague series on a two-game win streak, winning Sunday’s game against the Mets 10-6. With the exception of a three-game hiccup at the end of last week, the Rays are 7-3 in their last 10 games and have won three of their last four series’ played.

B.J. Upton and Evan Longoria both had four hits each in Sunday’s win over the Mets, so the Rays may finally be peaking at the plate. The Rays have an 8-4 record in interleague games thus far and are 10-5 against the Phillies lifetime during the regular season, so they’ll be looking to add wins and make up some of their six-game deficit in the AL East standings.

Oddsmakers have installed Price and the Rays as -169 favorites on the moneyline at home in the Tropicana. Moyer and the Phillies are getting as much as +159 as underdogs at the online sportsbooks that offer dimelines. The over/under total is set at 9.5 just about everywhere they book wagers on the total.

Moyer is 4-6 with a 6.35 ERA, so he’s hanging around but starting to really look his age. His last start he was tagged for 6 runs on 10 hits in 6.1 innings in a 7-1 loss to Toronto, his eighth time in 13 starts he’s given up more than 4 runs a game. The Phillies are just 6-7 with Moyer starting this season, but he did win game three of the World Series last season against the Rays, going 6.1 innings and allowing just three runs in the Phillies 4-3 win.

Price is still just 1-1 with a 3.46 ERA this season in five starts, but he is making progress. His last start was perhaps his worst (5 R, 10 H), but he didn’t walk a single batter in the game and went a season-high seven innings. Prior to that Price had walked 18 in just 19 innings of work, and had never made it out of the sixth inning.

Tampa Bay swept the last interleague series between these two played in the Tropicana Dome, er, Tropicana Field back in 2001, and took two out of three the time before for a 5-1 record at home overall. The under was 4-1-1 in those same six games, but those were some really bad Rays teams during those days.

Upton is on fire right now for the Rays right now, hitting .400 with 2 homeruns and 9 RBIs in his last nine games. Longoria, who had four hits on Sunday versus the Mets, went 1-for-20 last year against the Phillies in the World Series.

Ryan Howard is expected to play tonight after missing the first game in over two years on Sunday with sinusitis, which is a good thing because Howard has hit 12 of his 20 homeruns and 30 of his 54 RBIs in road games this year. Early season MVP candidate Raul Ibanez is still on the DL with a bad groin, so Howard will need to carry the offense for a while.

Badger’s Pick: I think the Rays will knock Moyer around tonight, while Price keeps the Phillies big lefties in check (Howard, Utley) without having to face Ibanez too. If your bankroll has enough to eat the chalk, take the Rays at -169 tonight.

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