2019 AL Wild Card Game Betting Odds: Rays-Athletics Trends & Pitching Notes

AL Wild Card Game Betting Odds: Tampa Bay Rays at Oakland Athletics

Probable starters: Charlie Morton (16-6, 3.05 ERA) vs. Sean Manaea (4-0, 1.21 ERA)

• Rays odds: +128
• Athletics odds: -140
• Over/Under:  8
• Date: Wednesday, October 2
• First pitch:  8:09 p.m. ET on ESPN

Odds as of Sunday evening. Check out PointsBet, where Action Network users get an exclusive 200% deposit match (deposit $50, bet with $150).

How They Got Here

Both Oakland and Tampa Bay held off the Cleveland Indians to secure their Wild Card spots, and each was among the hotter teams after the All-Star break.

The Rays played at a 100-win pace in the second half, mostly without the help of Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow, who both returned from injuries late in September.

The Athletics played at a 106-win pace in their final 70 games, finishing with 97 wins on the season and landing in the Wild Card game for the second consecutive season.

They received a September pitching boost from Sean Manaea, in addition to exciting prospect arms Jesus Luzardo and A.J. Puk, and saw Marcus Semien have a breakout offensive year.

Oakland won four out of the seven regular-season meetings between these two clubs.

Pitching Matchup

Sean Manaea wasn't supposed to throw this season, and now he's starting the biggest game for the Athletics organization in more than a year.

In September 2018, the southpaw underwent shoulder surgery and was ruled out for all of 2019.

Battling through setbacks, Manaea still made it back in time to record five MLB starts this September, posting a 3.42 FIP with a 30:7 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

He will face Charlie Morton, perhaps the most underrated pitcher in the game.

Uncle Charlie ranks fourth in FIP and seventh in xFIP amongst starting pitchers this season. He's also 11th in pitching WAR over the past three years, just above Zack Greinke.

Both teams feature elite bullpen arms who can come in behind these starters in what projects as an extremely tight contest between two excellent defensive teams.

Trends to Know

Favorites are 9-5 (64.3%) straight up in Wild Card Games, while home teams are 8-6 (57.1%). Over/unders are split down the middle, 7-7.

The Oakland Athletics are 7-12 in postseason play dating back to 2006. They are 0-2 in Wild Card Games, losing in 2014 and 2018.

The Tampa Bay Rays are 13-17 in postseason play dating back to 2008. They won their only previous Wild Card Game appearance, in 2013 against the Cleveland Indians.