The Tampa Bay Rays (92-59) look to stay hot against the Athletics (61-91) in Thursday afternoon’s series finale at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida, as the Rays eye a series sweep and sixth consecutive win.
Following a three-game sweep of Houston, the Rays remained in the win column in Tuesday’s opener against the A’s, backed by five shutout innings from Griffin Jax and a walk-off solo home run by Junior Caminero, which was his American League-leading 41st long ball of the season.
Tampa Bay started strong in Game 2, scoring four runs through the first two innings, and while Henry Bolte and Tommy White each hit solo home runs in the third inning for the A’s, the Rays’ early runs proved to be enough despite the A’s making it a one-run game in the sixth.
All-Star right-hander Drew Rasmussen is set to make his 29th start of the season as the Rays go for the sweep Thursday afternoon. Rasmussen brings a 14-5 record, 2.81 ERA, and 0.92 WHIP into the matchup and has posted a stellar 1.73 ERA over his last four outings. The A’s will hand the ball to veteran left-hander Jeffrey Springs, who is 4-13 with a 5.93 ERA this season but is 1-0 with a 1.50 ERA through his first two starts of September.
See our Athletics vs. Rays predictions, picks, and more below ahead of Thursday afternoon’s series finale at Tropicana Field.
Athletics vs. Rays Odds
Although you wouldn’t guess it based on the records, it’s been a tight series to this point. However, the Rays have a clear pitching advantage Thursday afternoon while riding a five-game winning streak, making them sizable home favorites at Hard Rock Bet Sportsbook:
Athletics vs. Rays Predictions
Rise and shine, there’s day baseball on tap for Thursday, with Hard Rock Bet Sportsbook’s Stats Hub offering baseball betting insights and trends for the day’s MLB slate. Below you’ll find our Athletics vs. Rays prediction, which we got from using the Stats Hub:
Rays vs. Athletics Best Bet: Rays -1.5 (-120)
The A’s have kept this series extremely close against a Tampa Bay team that owns the best record in the American League, but they still lost both games. Now, that wouldn’t matter for this pick because the A’s simply covered the +1.5 run line by losing by only one run in each of the first two games of this series.
That alone could be a reason not to take the Rays on the run line Thursday afternoon, but Tampa Bay has one of the best starting pitchers in baseball taking the mound and still features a very dangerous lineup. Jeffrey Springs has pitched very well over his last two starts for the A’s, but his overall season has not gone to plan, making it hard to expect the veteran to go toe-to-toe with Drew Rasmussen and shut down this Tampa Bay offense.
The Stats Hub does note that the A’s have actually covered the run line on the road against the Rays in eight consecutive games spanning multiple seasons, but we’re going against that trend.
- Rays vs. Athletics Run Line Pick for Sept. 17: Rays -1.5 (-120)
Top 5 Most-Bet Player Props for ATH-TB
Junior Caminero has been playing his way right into the 2026 AL MVP conversation, and the Rays’ third baseman is clearly the popular target in the player prop markets as he and Tampa Bay go for the sweep:
- Junior Caminero – Over 0.5 Home Runs
- Junior Caminero – Over 0.5 Hits
- Shea Langeliers – Over 0.5 Hits
- Junior Caminero – Over 1.5 Total Bases
- Junior Caminero – To Record 1+ Hits
Athletics vs. Rays Betting Splits
Here’s how the action is trending at Hard Rock Bet for Thursday afternoon’s series finale at Tropicana Field:
- The Rays are drawing the majority of moneyline support with 86.5% of bets and 94.4% of the handle.
- Tampa Bay is also generating heavy run-line support with 87.5% of bets and 97.3% of the handle.
- The total is nearly split, but the Over is attracting 53.4% of bets and 50.5% of the handle.
Athletics vs. Rays Game Info
- š Where: Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, FL
- š Date: Thursday, Sept. 17
- ā° First Pitch: 1:10 PM ET
- šŗš» TV/Streaming: MLB.TV
- ā¾ Probable Pitchers:
- Athletics: Jeffrey Springs
- Rays: Drew Rasmussen
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Referenced odds are subject to change.
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