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As the Tampa Bay Rays and Baltimore Orioles start their three game series today, we are reminded of how strong the AL East is. Both teams come into this game playing some good baseball. Tampa Bay is coming off a series where they took two of three from the New York Yankees. The Rays continue to show how dominant they have been this season and it has been impressive to watch. As for the Orioles, they did drop two of three to the Atlanta Braves in their previous series but they are still playing well and are one of the better teams across the league. Baltimore can make up some ground in this series as they sit a few games behind Tampa Bay for the division lead. This should be a fascinating series between two teams that look to be competing for the division crown all year.

Date: Monday, May 8th, 2023

Time: 6:35 p.m. EST

Location: Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore, Maryland

Team Records: Tampa Bay Rays (28-7), Baltimore Orioles (22-12)

Projected Starting Pitchers:

Shane McClanahan (6-0, 2.03 ERA) vs Kyle Gibson (4-1, 4.61 ERA)

What to Watch:

It has been an incredible start to the season for the Tampa Bay Rays. They hold the best record around baseball and don’t look to be slowing down any time soon. This is a franchise that always finds a way to be competitive but they have taken it to another level so far this season. Today, they have their ace in Shane McClanahan pitching and he has been stellar to start the year. He is among the favorites for the AL CY Young award thus far and will need another strong showing today if they want to take down the Orioles. He has the stuff to do so but will need to keep command of his pitch count against a fiery Baltimore team.

Speaking of the Orioles, they will be throwing out Kyle Gibson. He has had an up and down season with his starts but it hasn’t hurt the team in terms of wins yet. He is going to need to get into a nice rhythm early on against this tough Rays lineup if he has any chance of coming away with the win here.

Game Prediction: Tampa Bay Rays 4, Baltimore Orioles 2

Once again, McClanahan dominates and lead his team to a win here. He on a CY Young pace and shows it again against Baltimore on the road.

Odds Presented By Betfred Sportsbook 

Spread – Tampa Bay Rays -1.5 (-105) / Baltimore Orioles +1.5 (+-115)

Moneyline – Tampa Bay Rays -180 / Baltimore Orioles +150

Total – 8.5 – Over (-110) / Under (-110)

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