Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Vegas Play of the Day: Tampa Bay Rays at Seattle Mariners

We’ve entered the third season of the annual South Point-lined Play of the Day competition, effective July 1.

Starting bankrolls have reset to $10,000, with the maximum bet being to win $1,000 and the minimum wager $300. Ray Brewer won the 2015-2016 season, after Taylor Bern prevailed in 2014-2015. Bern stepped away in the middle of the 2016-2017 season with a 16-12 record and $13,317 bankroll, with Mike Grimala taking his place.

Seattle Mariners Even money vs. Tampa Bay Rays: $500 to win $500

Seattle has been the most injured team in baseball. The Mariners’ injury misfortune has kept bettors away from them on a daily basis.

It’s hard to fault anyone for not wanting to back a team that’s a B-version of itself, but pay close enough attention, and that reluctance creates opportunities of value. Tonight might present one of those cases.

Even with Seattle hurting, it’s on even footing with Tampa Bay. The Mariners showed as much last night in beating the Rays 12-4 as a plus-108 favorite with a decided disadvantage on the pitching mound.

The pitching matchup is closer to even tonight. Tampa Bay’s Alex Cobb is far more established, but Seattle rookie Sam Gaviglio has shown some real promise in his first three starts.

The last two were at Colorado and at Washington — much tougher tests than Tampa Bay. There’s a chance this becomes the night where Gaviglio gets exposed, but it's slim.

Seattle deserves to be the slight favorite here, not the other way around.

Current Standings: Grimala (11-13, $9,703), Keefer (44-40-3, $7,895), Brewer (33-32-2, $7,735), Granger (16-22-1, $7,272)

Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.

Join the Discussion:

Check this out for a full explanation of our conversion to the LiveFyre commenting system and instructions on how to sign up for an account.

Full comments policy