Game 2 of the interleague series between the Tampa Bay Rays and Atlanta Braves will take place on Saturday afternoon when the Tampa Bay Rays travel to Atlanta, Georgia, to face the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park. The game will start at 4:10 PM ET and air on ESPN+, Bally Sports Southeast, and Bally Sports Sun.
The Tampa Bay Rays lost Game 1 of the series on Friday evening by a score of 3-7 on the road against the Atlanta Braves. Zack Littell struggled in the start, as he only lasted 2 innings and allowed six earned runs while striking out two batters.
The Rays bullpen wouldn't allow another run after Littell was pulled at the end of the 2nd inning. However, they would only score three runs off eight hits in the loss. The loss drops the record for the Rays to four games below .500 at 33-37, which puts them in last place in the AL East and gives them the 5th worst record in the American League, a far cry from their over/under win total of 84.5 games as they are on pace to win 76 games this season.
Tampa Bay's loss in Game 1 was its third in the last five meetings with Atlanta. In those contests, the Rays lost by an average margin of 1 run per game. The Tampa Bay Rays will look to even the series at 1-1 when they travel to face the Atlanta Braves for Game 2.
After losing five games in a row, the Atlanta Braves enter Game 2 of the series against the Tampa Bay Rays on a two-game winning streak following a 6-3 win in Game 3 of their series against the Orioles on Thursday and a 7-3 win at home against the Tampa Bay Rays in Game 1 of the series on Friday evening.
The Braves aren't likely to make a deep run this postseason and will probably not go over their win total of 101.5 games after losing a key piece offensively in Ronald Acuna and their best pitcher, Spencer Strider, for the season. Atlanta enters this game with a record of 37-30, which puts them in 2nd place in the NL East and 8.5 games behind the Philadelphia Phillies for 1st place in the division.
The Braves are on pace to win 89 games this season and will fight for one of the two Wild Card spots in the National League. The Braves have won three of the last four against the Rays and seven of the previous ten in the series while outscoring Tampa Bay by an average of 5 to 3.9 runs per game.
The Atlanta Braves will host the Tampa Bay Rays for Game 2 on Saturday afternoon, looking to secure the series win.
WagerWeb lists the Atlanta Braves as -165 moneyline favorites at home against the Tampa Bay Rays for Game 2 of the series on Saturday afternoon. Atlanta has won seven of the last ten by an average margin of 1.1 runs per game and two of the previous three meetings by an average margin of 1 run per game.
Atlanta has struggled over their last seven games, compiling a record of 2-5 during that stretch. However, they have been the dominant team in the series against the Rays as they have won seven of the previous ten and two of the last three games in the series while having outscored the Rays by an average of 5 to 3.9 runs per game in the previous ten and 5.67 to 4.67 runs per game in the last three games in the series. As a result, I am taking the moneyline for the Atlanta Braves when they host the Tampa Bay Rays for Game 2 of the series on Saturday afternoon.
