Tampa Bay Rays looks to continue their road success in baseball gambling as they visit the Cleveland Indians on Friday.The Rays have the best road record in all of baseball and they are favored in MLB gambling against the Indians on Friday. Tampa Bay is expected to go with Jeff Niemann on Friday and he may be the most undervalued pitcher in all of baseball. He is 8-2 on the season with a 2.92 ERA. He beat the Yankees last time out to get his eighth win of the season. He is 0-1 with a 4.50 ERA in three career starts against Cleveland.
A funny thing happened to the Cleveland Indians after the All-Star break. They started winning. For some reason the Indians have decided they want to look like a Major League team again. They have a chance to win on Friday because their All-Star pitcher Fausto Carmona is scheduled to be on the mound. He is 9-7 with a 3.65 ERA this season. He is 2-1 with a 3.48 ERA in his last three starts. He is 3-1 in his career against the Rays but his ERA is high at 5.52.
Tampa Bay is looking like a World Series contender. They could end up winning the American League East. The Rays are in the top five in both hitting and in ERA so it is not a fluke that they are winning. Tampa has a very good lineup and a pitching staff that can matchup with any team in the league. David Price was the All-Star starter but Niemann has been just as good and the odds are lower when he pitches. The Rays are solid at home and on the road they have been superb all season.
The Indians did very well after the All-Star break as they swept the Detroit Tigers in a four-game series. The Indians continued that success against Minnesota. Winning against Detroit and Minnesota is nice but winning against the Rays is another matter. Tampa is one of the best teams in the league along with the Yankees and they will be a much tougher test for the Tribe. Cleveland still has a losing record at home at 21-22 and they will be underdogs in this series against the Rays.