MLB World Series Game 3 Betting – Tampa Bay Rays vs. Philadelphia Phillies

After splitting the first two games of the World Series, the series shifts to the City of Brotherly Love where the Philadelphia Phillies and Tampa Bay Rays will do battle in Saturday night’s MLB betting affair.

On Thursday, the Rays knotted the series with a 4-2 victory behind a strong outing by RHP James Shields. The righty picked up his first win since the ALDS with 5 2/3rd innings of scoreless baseball. BJ Upton got hits in the 1st and 2nd innings, scoring the second run in the 1st inning and knocked in Dioner Navarro in the 2nd. Strong defense and the fact that the Phillies struggled for the second straight game with runners in scoring position was enough to lead the Rays to victory.

RHP Matt Garza will take the mound for Tampa Bay on Saturday night. After struggling in his lone start against the White Sox in the ALDS, he responded with two fantastic outings in the ALCS, earning him MVP of the series. In his two starts against the Red Sox, he allowed just two runs over 13 innings with a 1.08 WHIP and 9.69 K/9.

Though Tampa Bay bettors had a banner season, things weren’t fantastic for them when Garza was on the hill. The Rays went 14-16 in his 30 starts, losing $462. However, his core figures were solid, recording 128 strikeouts, a 1.24 WHIP, and a 3.70 ERA. That was shown in that fact that ‘under’ bettors went 18-12 while the righty was pitching.

If Tampa Bay is going to win their first championship in franchise history, things are going to need to pick up for Carlos Pena, Evan Longoria, and Carl Crawford, as 3-4-5 hitters for the Rays have only gotten one hit in the series.

The Phillies will respond by handing the ball to LHP Jaime Moyer. He hasn’t had the greatest time in the playoffs as of yet, recording two of Philadelphia’s three losses. The lefty is 0-2 with a 13.50 ERA in two starts. The opposition is batting a startling .345.

He was much better in the regular season, going 16-7 with a 3.71 ERA. He has struggled with the long ball, giving up 50 home runs in the last two seasons. That’s bad news against a squad that turned the Trop and Fenway Park into a launching pad in the ALCS. MLB bettors had a field day this season, going 22-11 and winning $1,021 in Moyer’s 22 starts.

Oddsmakers have installed the Rays as -115 favorites. The ‘total’ has been set at 9, over -125.

The MLB Betting trends point towards a lower scoring affair once again after two straight ‘unders’ to start the series. Philadelphia is now 9-2 for ‘under’ bettors in their L/11 interleague games, while Tampa Bay has now played eight of its L/11 playoff match-ups ‘under’ the ‘total.’

Whether you prefer betting on the side, ‘total’, runline, or propositions of this game, BetOnline Sportsbook has all of the MLB betting you can sink your teeth into, so login to your account right now and get your action down!