The Tampa Bay Rays were scheduled to visit the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday night, and the matchup carried the feel of a game that could turn on the first crooked number. Tampa Bay came in on a six-game winning streak, had scored at least five runs in every one of those games, and was averaging 5.06 runs per game this season.
That is why the forecast leaned toward offense, with Scimia backing the Over and calling for the Rays to win a high-scoring game in Pittsburgh. Brandon Lowe had already hit seven home runs in his first 17 games, while Oneil Cruz and Ryan O’Hearn were also off to fast starts, giving both lineups enough pop to make runs likely early and often.
The pitching matchup did not offer much to slow that down. Rays starter Nick Martinez opened the year with a 2.16 ERA and a 0.96 WHIP over his first three starts, while Pirates starter Bubba Chandler had allowed three earned runs in each of his last two outings and had not gone more than 5 1/3 innings in either one. Pittsburgh was also averaging five runs per game off a.734 OPS, a sign that its offense had done enough to keep games moving even when the pitching did not hold.
That makes Friday night less about whether either club can score and more about whether one side can separate from the other. Tampa Bay has already shown it can do that on a nightly basis, going 6-0 straight up over its last six games, and the way the bats have been carrying the Rays suggests the streak has been built on more than luck. Ed Scimia’s read was simple: the Rays take a high-scoring game in Pittsburgh.
