The Tampa Bay Rays will look to grab an inter-league road victory when they take on the Phillies in Philadelphia at Citizens Bank Park on Friday in baseball action.

The Phillies will rely on Cliff Lee to turn in a quality outing on the mound in this one, while James Shields will be his counterpart for the Rays. Cliff Lee is 0-3 this season, and James Shields is 7-4.



View Tampa Bay vs Philadelphia Odds and Stats.

Betting Line:
Baseball odds makers opened the Phillies as -140 moneyline favorites in this matchup. Over under bettors saw the number open at 7.5.

Power Rankings:
The Phillies sit at No. 6 in the National League in the current MLB power poll here at Odds Shark, while the Rays sit at an American League No. 3 on the same chart.



How They Match Up:
Scoring stats point to some edges in this matchup. The game features Philadelphia's National League No. 8-ranked scoring average of 4.3 runs per game, against a Rays offense rated No. 9 and scoring 4.3 runs per game in the league. The Phillies have averaged 9.4 hits per game to date this season, more than the Rays hitters have managed (7.7 per nine innings).

Pitching and defensive stats are important baseball handicapping factors and Philadelphia has the National League's No. 9-ranked defense. In the other dugout, the Rays own the American League's No. 5 mark in runs allowed.

The Rays were a 5-2 loser in their most recent outing on the road against the Nationals. That made winners of bettors who got Washington at -119 on the moneyline, while the total score (7) was good news for UNDER bettors. The Rays endured a 5-2 loss at the hands of the Nationals on Thursday, with Matt Moore throwing 5 innings of 3-hit ball at Nationals Park.

Philadelphia lost its last outing, a 4-1 result against the Rockies on June 21. Bettors who backed the Rockies at +170 on the moneyline won on the day, and the total score (5) sent UNDER bettors to the payout window. Philadelphia looks to rebound from a loss to the Rockies, who beat them 4-1 on Thursday behind a start from Jeff Francis at Citizens Bank Park.


Tampa Bay Rays Trends:
When playing on Friday are 7-3
Before playing Philadelphia are 6-4
After playing Washington are 5-5
After a loss are 5-5

Philadelphia Phillies Trends:
When playing on Friday are 6-4
Before playing Tampa Bay are 5-5
After playing Colorado are 8-2
After a loss are 3-7

A few Rays at Phillies trends to consider:
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Tampa Bay's last 5 games when playing Philadelphia
Tampa Bay is 5-2 SU in its last 7 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Tampa Bay's last 7 games when playing on the road against Philadelphia
Tampa Bay is 3-6 SU in its last 9 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Philadelphia's last 5 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Philadelphia's last 5 games when playing Tampa Bay
Philadelphia is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Tampa Bay
The total has gone OVER in 17 of Philadelphia's last 23 games


Next up:
Tampa Bay at Philadelphia, Saturday, June 23