MLB Wednesday Winning Wagers Include Two Interleague Matchups: Rays-Marlins, Padres-Angels

I like baseball and all, but I'm only betting the MLB out of boredom Wednesday. The NBA Finals, Stanley Cup Finals, and Memorial Tournament haven't started yet, and I need something to watch while I'm handicapping this weekend's Belmont Stakes. More importantly, I won 10 straight in the MLB last week and I have to rebuild my bankroll after a disastrous NBA season. 

MLB Bet Slip: Wednesday, June 5 

The odds chosen are the best available at the time of writing.

Tampa Bay Rays (30-31) at Miami Marlins (21-40), 6:40 p.m. ET

The Rays won the series opener 9-5 Tuesday. This is the last of a mini-two-game series and these teams meet again in Tampa at the end of July. 

Caesars Odds 

• Moneyline (ML): TAMPA BAY (-125) | Miami (+105)
• Runline (RL): Rays -1.5 (+140) | Marlins +1.5 (-165)
• Total — 7.5 — Over (+100) | Under (-120)

Starting Pitchers 

• Tampa Bay Rays RHP Zach Eflin (3-4 with a 4.12 ERA). Eflin got a no-decision in a 5-4 win at the Toronto Blue Jays in his previous outing, May 18th. He gave up 4 ER in 6.0 innings pitched (IP) with 9 H, 0 BB, and 3 K.
• Miami Marlins LHP Braxton Garrett (2-0 with a 4.56 ERA). Garrett won his second straight start, 9-1, at the San Diego Padres May 29. The lefty went 5.0 IP with 1 ER on 6 H, 1 HR, 0 BB, and 2 K.

RAYS (-125) over Marlins

If "trap lines" exist, this has to be one. Sure, both teams are below-.500, but the Rays play in baseball's toughest division and the Marlins are last in the NL East. Tampa Bay is 9-4 in interleague games and Miami is 5-11. Plus, the Rays are 8-1 vs. the Marlins since 2022. 

Tampa Bay Rays RHP Zach Eflin throws a pitch against the Chicago White Sox at Tropicana Field in Florida. (Jonathan Dyer-USA TODAY Sports)

Furthermore, Tampa is 10-5 vs. lefties this year and hits them better than Miami hits righties. Per FanGraphs, the Rays have a better wRC+ (106-91) and wOBA (.310-.296) against left-handed pitching compared to the Marlins vs. right-handed pitching. 

Now, Tampa's bullpen has sucked this year. Yet, I expect that to turn around because the Rays consistently have some of the best relief pitching in MLB. Their two best relievers, RHPs Shawn Armstrong and Jason Adam, have a sub-2.00 ERA and are available to pitch Wednesday. Whereas Miami's two best bullpen arms pitched Tuesday. 

BET 1.25u on Tampa Bay's -125 ML at Caesars. Give me the Rays up to -140. 

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San Diego Padres (32-32) at Los Angeles Angels (23-38), 9:38 p.m. ET

The Angels won the first two games of this set with a +3 run differential: 2-1 Monday and 4-2 Tuesday. 

BetMGM Odds 

• ML: SAN DIEGO (-150) | Los Angeles (+125)
• RL: Padres -1.5 (+115) | Angels +1.5 (-140)
• Total — 8 — Over (-105) | Under (-115)

Starting Pitchers 

• San Diego Padres RHP Dylan Cease (5-4 with a 3.42 ERA). Cease got a no-decision in San Diego's 11-8 win at the Kansas City Royals on Friday. He threw 5.1 innings, allowing 3 ER on 5 H, 1 BB, and 5 K.
• Los Angeles Angels RHP Jose Soriano (2-5 with a 3.86 ERA). Soriano earned a no-decision in LAA's 5-4 loss at the Seattle Mariners on Friday with 6.0 IP, 4 ER, 7 H, 2 BB, and 3 K.

PADRES (-150) over Angels 

Cease is 5-0 as a road favorite this year with a +3.4 scoring margin and +75.3% return on investment. The Padres were -180 favorites vs. Colorado in one of those games and the Rockies are only 1.5 games worse than LAA. FanGraphs has Cease 13th in its starting-pitcher power rankings, and he is tied for seventh in WAR among qualified starters. 

Finally, according to FanGraphs, the Padres are ninth in wRC+ and 10th in wOBA over the last two weeks. While the Angels are dead last in both with a bullet. While Los Angeles's .252 wOBA is 19 points lower than the next closest team and the Chicago White Sox's 74 wRC+ is 14 better than the Angels over that span. 

BET 1.5u on San Diego's -150 ML at BetMGM. The Padres are playable up to -165. 

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