Tampa Bay at Seattle

Tampa Bay has taken the first two of this series by a run apiece, 2-1 on Friday behind seven scoreless innings from Drew Rasmussen and 3-2 on Saturday, and at 70-46 the Rays are the first American League club to reach 70 wins. We were on Seattle at home Tuesday and watched the Mariners get shut out 8-0, which is the whole story of this team right now: 461 runs scored, dead last in the majors at 3.91 a game, with a .229 team batting average. Emerson Hancock has been steady at a 3.33 ERA with 108 strikeouts, but a good start doesn't fix a lineup that can't push across a second run. Seattle is 44-74 against the runline, the worst mark in baseball. Tampa Bay is 66-50. The Rays haven't named a starter, and that uncertainty is what the -210 is charging for, though their bullpen has been the strongest part of a first-place club and it keeps games inside a run whether the first arm goes two innings or five. Money is landing on Tampa Bay ahead of the ticket count. Tampa Bay is the right side on the runline this afternoon.