It’s Thursday, May 8 and the Phillies (21-15) are in Tampa to take on the Rays (16-20). Jesús Luzardo is slated to take the mound for Philadelphia against Ryan Pepiot for Tampa Bay.
The Phillies took Games 1 and 2 of the series with yesterday’s victory coming in a 7-0 shutout. The Phillies have outscored the Rays, 15-4, in the two games and have won four of the previous five games overall.
Let/s dive into the matchup and find a sweat or two. We’ve got all the info and analysis you need to know ahead of the game, including the latest info on how to catch tipoff, odds, recent team performance, player stats, and of course, our predictions, picks & best bets for the game from our modeling tools and staff of experts.
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Game details & how to watch Phillies at Rays
- Date: Thursday, May 8, 2025
- Time: 7:05 PM EST
- Site: George M. Steinbrenner Field
- City: Tampa, FL
- Network/Streaming: NBCSP, FDSNSUN, MLBN
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Odds for the Phillies at the Rays
The latest odds as of Thursday:
- Moneyline: Phillies (-138), Rays (+117)
- Spread: Phillies -1.5
- Total: 8.0 runs
Probable starting pitchers for Phillies at Rays
- Pitching matchup for May 8, 2025: Jesús Luzardo vs. Ryan Pepiot
- Phillies: Jesús Luzardo, (3-0, 1.94 ERA)
Last outing: 5.1 Innings Pitched, 2 Earned Runs Allowed, 9 Hits Allowed, 1 Walk, and 6 Strikeouts - Rays: Ryan Pepiot, (2-4, 4.23 ERA)
Last outing: 4.1 Innings Pitched, 2 Earned Runs Allowed, 5 Hits Allowed, 2 Walks, and 1 Strikeout
- Phillies: Jesús Luzardo, (3-0, 1.94 ERA)
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Expert picks & predictions for tonight’s game between the Phillies and the Rays
Rotoworld Best Bet
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Our model calculates projections around each moneyline, spread and over/under bet for every game on the MLB calendar based on data points like past performance, player matchups, ballpark information and weather forecasts.
Once the model is finished running, we put its projection next to the latest betting lines for the game to arrive at a relative confidence level for each wager.
Here are the best bets our model is projecting for Thursday’s game between the Phillies and the Rays:
- Moneyline: NBC Sports Bet is recommending a play on the Philadelphia Phillies on the Moneyline.
- Spread: NBC Sports Bet is leaning towards a play ATS on the Tampa Bay Rays at +1.5.
- Total: NBC Sports Bet is recommending a play on the over on the Game Total of 8.0.
Want even more MLB best bets and predictions from our expert staff & tools? Check out the Expert MLB Predictions page from NBC
Top betting trends & insights to know ahead of Phillies at Rays
- The Phillies have won 3 straight games at the Rays
- The Under is 37-29-2 for the Rays’ and the Phillies’ games combined this season
- The Rays have failed to cover the Run Line in 4 straight home games
If you’re looking for more key trends and stats around the spread, moneyline and total for every single game on the schedule today, check out our MLB Top Trends tool on NBC Sports!
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- Jay Croucher (@croucherJD)
- Drew Dinsick (@whale_capper)
- Vaughn Dalzell (@VmoneySports)
- Brad Thomas (@MrBradThomas)
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