The 82-60 Baltimore Orioles dominance over their AL East rival Tampa Bay Rays continued last night when they took game 1 of their 3-game set, 2-0, at Birdland. The Orioles have now won 7 of their last 8 meetings with the Rays, outscoring them 40-14 over the 8 games. Today, the Al East’s best will send the ex-Ray, Zach Eflin, to the hill. He is 10-7 with a 3.60 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP. Since being acquired from Tampa in July, Eflin is 5-0 with an ERA of only 1.95. He last faced his old team in St. Pete back in August where he threw 7 shutout innings and Baltimore cruised to a 4-1 victory. The 69-72 Rays are not going to the post-season, that’s a given, so they are playing just to be a nuisance to front runners like the O’s. Tonight they are expected to give the nod to Ryan Pepiot. He comes in at 7-6, with a 3.76 ERA, a 1.12 WHIP, and last faced Baltimore in June where he yielded 9 hits, 4 runs, and the Orioles went on to a 5-2 victory. Baltimore is by far the better team on the field today and the side to consider.
TODAY’S PICK: BALTIMORE ORIOLES