Dave Cokin
Bonus Play Monday
RAYS (Smyly) at BLUE JAYS (Happ) 7:05 PM
Take: RAYS +115
Good matchup of southpaws on Monday evening as the Rays and Blue Jays open a series at Toronto. Drew Smyly throws for Tampa Bay, while red hot J.A. Happ will take the mound for the hosts.
Smyly got knocked around in his most recent start, but the Rays lefty has pitched some outstanding baseball and I expect a good rebound here, even against a potent Toronto lineup. As for Happ, he’s on one of the most surprising runs I can ever recall. Happ has been nothing short of sensational going back to the latter stages of the 2015 campaign. I never thought of him as more than a back of the rotation starter, but Happ is proving me very wrong on that count right now.
This is not the ideal scheduling spot for the Rays. They really blew one on Sunday, coughing up a nice lead against Oakland and I thought Kevin Cash kind of mismanaged his bullpen in the process. The Rays have to put that loss behind them in a hurry, as it’s the type that can sometimes kick off a losing streak.
But even if this is not a perfect scenario for Tampa Bay, I definitely want to make a play against the Blue Jays tonight. What happened on Sunday as the Jays brawled with the Rangers is very much a potential distraction, and I look at Toronto as a prime fade tonight from that standpoint.
Beyond that, Smyly-Happ is a tossup on my numbers, and while I don’t trust the Rays pen much, I have even less faith in the Jays relief corps, which has been mostly horrible.
Between the math I use and the scheduling dynamics, I see this as a game that Tampa Bay should have a good chance to win. Add in the plus money, and I’ve got little problem taking my shot with the Rays tonight.