A short-handed Baltimore Orioles team made some noise on Opening Day. Without departed free agents Nelson Cruz and Nick Markakis, the O’s still showcased plenty of power in a 6-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays. Speaking of the Rays, they’re bothered by their own injury woes with starting pitchers Alex Cobb, Matt Moore and Drew Smyly sidelined.
Can Baltimore build momentum with another big win? Read on for everything you need to know heading into this matchup. In the meantime, you can also check out some of the big games in a busy day of baseball with our complete previews for the Angels vs. Mariners and Padres vs. Dodgers.
[sc:MLBArticles ]Baltimore Orioles vs. Tampa Bay Rays Preview
Where: Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, Florida
When: Tuesday, April 7, 7:10 PM ET
Line: Baltimore Orioles (+104) at Tampa Bay Rays (-114); total 7.5 – view all MLB lines
Betting on the Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles were already missing top batters Cruz and Markakis heading into the 2015 season. They were also without J.J. Hardy (.268 batting average) and Matt Wieters (.308) in the season opener due to injuries. But offseason acquisition Travis Snider quieted Baltimore’s doubters in his O’s debut. Snider went 3-for-4 with two RBIs in Monday’s victory over Tampa Bay.
[sc:MLB240banner ]Steve Pearce and Ryan Flaherty each hit solo homers on Monday, while Alejandro De Aza hit a two-run homer. The three should be able to have another good outing against Nathan Karns, who’s just 1-2 with a 6.00 ERA in six career starts. Chris Davis’ return should also give a boost to the O’s. He’s 2-for-2 with a home run against Karns in his career.
Taking the mound for Baltimore is Wei-Yin Chen. He is 3-4 with a 3.26 ERA in 13 career starts against Tampa Bay. But he should be able to deliver some solid innings if he performs up to his last visit to Tropicana Field. Chen threw six shutout innings but didn’t record a decision in a 3-0 road loss last September.
Baltimore has won seven of its last 10 games at Tropicana Field.
Betting on the Tampa Bay Rays
With three starting pitchers sidelined due to injury, the Rays give the ball to Nathan Karns who had mixed results in two starts as a Ray last season. He allowed two hits over seven innings in a 1-0 win at Toronto before allowing six runs (including five off three homers) over five innings in a 10-5 loss to the Chicago White Sox in September. Karns allowed three runs in 4.1 innings against Baltimore with Washington in 2013.
Leadoff hitter John Jaso is expected to miss a couple of days after injuring his wrist on Monday. But the Rays’ batting lineup should still be solid against Baltimore’s Chen. Evan Longoria hit 5-of-12 with three doubles against Chen in 2014, while James Loney is 4-of-13 with a pair of doubles.
Tampa Bay also has some power at the plate. Logan Forsythe, Desmond Jennings and Kevin Kiermaier each have a homer against Chen in their respective careers.
The Rays have lost four of their last five home games.
Writer’s Prediction
Baltimore’s power proves too much for Karns. Take the O’s at +104.
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