• The Atlanta Braves visit the Tampa Bay Rays in a matchup of baseball’s best teams Friday
• Atlanta has lost twice in their last 20, while Tampa has lost a season-high five games
• Don’t miss the latest Braves vs Rays picks and starting pitchers below

It’s still early, but we could be looking at a World Series preview when the Atlanta Braves (58-28, 28-13 away) visit the Tampa Bay Rays (57-32, 34-12 home) to kick off a three-game set.

Atlanta enters this one as the hottest team in baseball, having lost just twice in their last 20 games, and are a wicked 25-5 since the start of June. Tampa, meanwhile, has lost a season-high five straight.

Still, that hasn’t stopped the oddsmakers from siding with the homeside in the opener of this showdown.

Action gets underway Friday (July 7) at 6:40pm ET from Tropicana Field in St Petersburg, Florida. You can watch the game live on Apple TV+.

Braves vs Rays Odds

As mentioned, the MLB odds have the Rays as -120 favorites on the moneyline, an implied win probability of 54.55%, with the total set at 8.5 runs.

At 34-12 at the Trop, Tampa owns the best home record in baseball, four game clear of the Braves. Atlanta, however, owns the best road record in baseball at 28-15.

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Odds as of July 6 at FanDuel. Check out SBD’s FanDuel review or another one of North America’s top sports betting sites.

Probable Pitchers

Atlanta sends veteran righty Charlie Morton to the mound, looking for a fourth straight win.

His last outing was among his best of late, pitching 5.2 innings, scattering four hits without giving up a run, walking one and striking out five in a 7-0 win over the Marlins.

June 30 🤝 July 1#ForTheA pic.twitter.com/KcS7TFb5Oy

— AtBraves ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (@Braves) July 1, 2023

Morton’s other two wins were aided by a powerful Braves’ offense: he went five innings, giving up seven hits, three earned runs and three walks while striking out seven in a 7-6 win over the Reds.

He again went 5.0 innings, with three earned runs and three walks, striking out eight in a 14-6 win over Colorado.

Only five Rays have ever faced Morton, and none have had more than three at-bats.

Morton vs Glasnow Stats

Tyler Glasnow gets the call for Tampa, and he’s looking to bounce back from a loss in his most recent outing against the Seattle Mariners.

The righty went 5.2 innings, giving up seven hits and three earned runs, walking one and striking out 11 in an 8-3 loss.

Prior to that, he fanned 12 over five innings, scattering four hits and just one earned run in a 3-1 win over the Kansas City Royals.

Only Kevin Pillar has double-digit at-bats against Glasnow, and he’s hitting just .167 in 12 plate appearances against him.

Atlanta and Tampa Players to Watch

There’s plenty of offense to go around between these teams, who rank 2-3 in total runs scored in the majors. Atlanta puts up a gaudy 5.66 runs per game, as opposed to the Rays’ 5.49 per contest.

The Braves are mashing the baseball, leading the bigs with 166 long balls. Three players — Matt Olson (29), Ozzie Albies (22) and Ronald Acuna Jr (21) have all topped 20+ before the all-star break, while seven total Braves have hit 14 or more.

To whom it might concern in Seattle,

Here’s a preview of what you get to see in a couple weeks. pic.twitter.com/OkQNRPD6NK

— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) July 1, 2023

Olson and Albies are top-five RBI men, while Olson and Acuna rank in the top four in extra base hits.

Tampa ranks third in home runs, with nine players hitting between nine and 16 dingers on the year. Randy Arozarena is tied with Jose Siri with 16 homers and a team-best 58 RBI. Isaac Paredes has 14 HR and 53 RBI.

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Braves vs Rays Prediction

Atlanta keeps chugging along, laying the wood to the Cleveland Guardians 8-1 last game, avenging a loss a game earlier. Sean Murphy, Olson and Austin Riley all connected on home runs in the win.

They are 10-1 in their last 11 against teams with a winning record, and 7-1 in their last eight interleague games.

Tampa, meanwhile, lost 3-1 in 11 innings to the Phillies, to get swept out of the City of Brotherly love. In all, they put up just six runs across the three losses, so they’ll be happy to get back home.

These two sides have devoured right-handed pitching this year, with Atlanta (.821) and Tampa (.787) ranking 1-2 in OPS and in home runs.

Not surprisingly, the over has hit in seven of the last 10 head-to-head battles between these two squads.

The last seven Rays games have hit the over against teams with a .600 or better record, and the over has gone 7-1 in their last eight against a righty.

Buckle up, should be plenty of fireworks from the Trop.

Pick: OVER 8.5 runs (+100)

The post Braves vs Rays Odds, Predictions & Picks (July 7) appeared first on Sports Betting Dime.