The Tampa Bay Rays are in a fierce race for the AL East, currently just half a game behind the Yankees. After a decisive sweep over the Royals, Tampa's pitching has been stellar, allowing only one run over three games, highlighted by Shane Baz's eight scoreless innings in a recent 4-0 victory. In contrast, the Baltimore Orioles have struggled, dropping two of three to Texas, leaving them 12 games under .500. The matchup features Ryan Pepiot (3.04 ERA) for the Rays against the Orioles' Tomoyuki Sugano (3.55 ERA), both looking to strengthen their teams' standings. Betting trends show the Rays are strong on the road, and the odds favor them slightly. Notably, Tampa has covered the spread in four of their last five games, while the Orioles have failed to score significantly in recent outings.