World Series Rematch – Philadelphia Phillies vs. Tampa Bay Rays

Philadelphia Phillies vs. Tampa Bay Rays 7:08 ET

For the first time this season, the 2008 World Series participants will square off at Tropicana Field, and BetOnline Sportsbook customers can sink their teeth into all of the great MLB betting action. The Philadelphia Phillies (36-31, -$157) have dropped six straight games, but will be looking to turn things around against the Tampa Bay Rays (37-34, -$131).

BetOnline oddsmakers are expecting the Rays to get a bit of vengeance for their World Series defeat to the Phillies, as they are -170 favorites to notch their 38th win of the season. The ‘total’ has been set at 9.5 under -120.

The Phils will send their elder statesmen, LHP Jaime Moyer to the mound in hopes of ending this losing streak. The 46-year old southpaw has been stuck on 250 wins for quite some time, and if he pitches like he did in his last outing, he won’t be reaching career win #251 tonight. He allowed six runs in 6.0 innings of work against the Blue Jays in Philly’s 7-1 loss six days ago. Moyer is just 4-6 with a 6.35 ERA this season, perhaps a sign that his lengthy career is potentially waning. If there’s good news for Phillies’ bettors, it’s that the left-hander is 8-4 with a 2.85 career ERA against Tampa Bay. The health of 1B Ryan Howard is still in question, as he has the flu. The good news is that he can DH in the AL park, but his availability is still up in the air.

Arguably the only reason that the Rays were able to face the Phils in last season’s World Series was the heroics of LHP David Price. Price was pitching out of the bullpen in the postseason last year, but he’ll be the starter on Tuesday night for manager Joe Maddon. Tampa Bay’s southpaw suffered his first career loss in his last outing against the red hot Rockies, but there were plenty of encouraging signs. He completed seven innings of work for the first time in his career, and it was also the first time that he didn’t walk a batter. Yes, he gave up ten hits and five runs, but Maddon was very happy with the Vanderbilt product’s efforts. Keep an eye on CF BJ Upton, who has finally started to round into form after a miserable start to the season. He’s hit safely in eight out of nine games, and has multi-hit games in four of his L/6.

The Rays are the selection tonight. Price is clearly starting to round into an MLB starter, while Moyer probably doesn’t belong in the majors any longer. This is the first game of a critical six-game home stretch for the defending AL East champs. They currently sit seven-games back in the loss column to the Red Sox, and they’d love nothing more than to open it up with a ‘W’ against the team that finally ended their run last year.

Rose’s Recommendation: 4* Tampa Bay Rays -170

(Rating Scale: 1* – 5*)