Tropicana Field hosts an MLB battle between the Tampa Bay Rays and the visiting Oakland Athletics on Friday.

Jarrod Parker, with a record of 8-7 on the season, gets the ball for the Athletics, while the Rays trot Matt Moore to the mound in this one. He is 10-7 so far in 2012.



View Oakland vs Tampa Bay Odds and Stats.

Betting Line:
Sportsbooks had installed the Rays as -175 moneyline favorites in this particular MLB matchup. The total, meanwhile, was set early at 7 before betting started to move the line.

Power Rankings:
This game matches up the No. 4 (Rays) and the No. 11 (Athletics) teams in their respective leagues, according to our current MLB Power Rankings.



How They Match Up:
At the plate, Tampa Bay owns the No. 13 ranking for hits in the American League at 7.9 per game. By contrast, the Athletics are rated No. 14 in the same category at 7.8 per game.

Pitching and defensive stats are important baseball handicapping factors and Tampa Bay has the American League's No. 1-ranked defense. In the other dugout, the Athletics own the American League's No. 2 mark in runs allowed.

In their last action, Oakland was a 5-0 loser on the road against the Rays. Bettors on Tampa Bay at -187 on the moneyline collected their winnings from that game, while the total score (5) sent UNDER bettors home happy as well. Oakland didn't plate a single run in their last outing, shut down by Alex Cobb in a losing cause, 5-0, against Tampa Bay on Thursday.




Oakland Athletics Trends:
When playing on Friday are 6-4
Before playing Tampa Bay are 5-5
After playing Tampa Bay are 7-3
After a loss are 5-5

Tampa Bay Rays Trends:
When playing on Friday are 9-1
Before playing Oakland are 7-3
After playing Oakland are 5-5
After a win are 8-2

A few Athletics at Rays trends to consider:
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Oakland's last 5 games on the road
Oakland is 6-2 SU in its last 8 games
The total has gone OVER in 8 of Oakland's last 11 games when playing on the road against Tampa Bay
The total has gone OVER in 10 of Oakland's last 14 games when playing Tampa Bay
Tampa Bay is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games
Tampa Bay is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 12 of Tampa Bay's last 14 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 8 of Tampa Bay's last 11 games when playing at home against Oakland


Next up:
Oakland at Tampa Bay, Saturday, August 25