Baltimore Orioles vs Tampa Bay Rays Picks and Prediction for Wednesday May 20 2026
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The Baltimore Orioles travel to face the Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday May 20, 2026, at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. First pitch is scheduled for 1:10 PM ET with coverage available on MLB.TV. At the time of this writing the odds were not released. Be sure to check out our free MLB picks at free MLB picks
Starting Pitchers
Shane Baz is expected to start for Baltimore in this matchup. The right-hander enters the contest with a 1-5 record, a 5.26 ERA, and a 1.52 WHIP across 51.1 innings pitched. He has allowed 56 hits while striking out 42 batters and walking 22. Tampa Bay is scheduled to counter with Jesse Scholtens, who carries a 4-2 record, a 3.06 ERA, and a 1.14 WHIP over 32.1 innings. He has surrendered 27 hits while recording 25 strikeouts and 10 walks.
Orioles Looking to Recover After Rough Loss
Baltimore enters Wednesday with a 21-27 overall record and a 9-15 road record. The Orioles recently lost to Tampa Bay 16-6 in the opening game of this series after recently winning over Washington 7-3. Baltimore also recently lost to Washington by scores of 13-3 and 3-2 before recently winning over the Yankees 7-0. The Orioles have struggled to build consistency during this stretch, especially away from home.
The Orioles are batting .234 as a team with 211 runs scored and 373 hits this season. Baltimore has hit 51 home runs while posting a .316 on-base percentage and a .388 slugging percentage. On the mound, the Orioles own a 4.97 ERA and a 1.47 WHIP while allowing opponents to bat .265 against them. The pitching staff has issued 184 walks and recorded 390 strikeouts this season.
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One issue for Baltimore entering this matchup is pitching consistency. The Orioles allowed 16 runs in the series opener against Tampa Bay and currently carry a 4.97 team ERA along with a 1.47 WHIP. While the offense has produced at times, the pitching staff has struggled to consistently limit opposing offenses during road games.
Rays Continuing Strong Run at Home
Tampa Bay enters the contest with a 31-15 overall record and an impressive 17-5 home record. The Rays recently won over Baltimore 16-6 and also recently won over Miami by scores of 6-3 and 7-2. Tampa Bay recently lost to Miami 10-5 in 10 innings and also recently lost to Toronto 5-3 in extra innings, but the club continues to play strong baseball overall entering this matchup.
The Rays are batting .263 as a team with 223 runs scored and 409 hits this season. Tampa Bay has hit 39 home runs while posting a .336 on-base percentage and a .391 slugging percentage. The pitching staff owns a 3.64 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP while limiting opponents to a .226 batting average. Tampa Bay has also issued 145 walks and recorded 359 strikeouts this season.
One major strength for Tampa Bay has been overall balance on both sides of the ball. The Rays enter this game with the stronger batting average, lower ERA, lower WHIP, and better opponent batting average compared to Baltimore. Tampa Bay has also been dominant at home with 17 wins in 22 games at Tropicana Field this season.
Baltimore Orioles vs Tampa Bay Rays Picks and Prediction
Baltimore Orioles vs Tampa Bay Rays Pick
- Pick: Tampa Bay Rays Moneyline
Tampa Bay enters this matchup playing significantly better baseball overall and already dominated Baltimore 16-6 in the series opener. The Rays also own a strong 17-5 home record while carrying the better team ERA, WHIP, batting average, and opponent batting average in this matchup. Baltimore has struggled on the road with only nine road victories and continues to have issues limiting opposing offenses. With Tampa Bay producing consistently both offensively and on the mound, the Rays hold a clear advantage entering Wednesday.
Baltimore Orioles vs Tampa Bay Rays Total Pick
- Pick: Take the over if the total is set at 9
I would lean toward the over because Baltimore’s pitching struggles have consistently led to high-scoring games recently. The Orioles allowed 16 runs in the previous matchup against Tampa Bay and currently own a 4.97 team ERA. Both starting pitchers also enter with contrasting numbers, with Baltimore’s starter carrying a 5.26 ERA. Tampa Bay continues to hit consistently with a .263 team batting average and already scored 16 runs in this series. With both offenses capable of generating production, this game could once again push beyond a higher total.
Final Score Prediction: Tampa Bay Rays 7 – Baltimore Orioles 4
This prediction was written before the completion of game play on Tuesday.
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