Brewers vs. Rays (June 28): Will Woodruff’s rotten Interleague run end in return to scene of first MLB win?

Brandon Woodruff makes his return for the Milwaukee Brewers tonight as the NL Central leaders take on the Tampa Bay Rays in the first of a two-game midweek set at Tropicana Field.

Woodruff’s most recent MLB start was on May 27, when he suffered a high ankle sprain against the St. Louis Cardinals.

He returns with the Brew Crew a half-game in front of the Cardinals in the NL Central ahead of six road games this week, two in St. Pete and four in Pittsburgh against the Pirates.

This short series is the end of an eight-game homestand for the Rays, who have an 11-game road trip against the Blue Jays, Red Sox, and Reds starting Thursday to look forward to.

Milwaukee Brewers vs. Tampa Bay Rays Betting Odds and Matchup Information

Matchup Information

• Matchup: Milwaukee Brewers (42-33, 19-15 away, 1st in the NL Central) vs. Tampa Bay Rays (40-32, 15-17 home, 4th in the AL East)
• Venue & Location: Tropicana Field (St. Petersburg, Florida)
• Date: Tuesday, June 28, 2022
• Game Time: 7:10 p.m. Eastern Time
• TV Broadcast/Streaming Info: Bally Sports Midwest (Brewers), Bally Sports Sun (Rays), MLB Extra Innings/MLB.TV (subscription packages)

Brewers vs. Rays Pitching Matchup

• Milwaukee Brewers: Brandon Woodruff (2022: 9 starts, 5-3, 4.74 ERA, 43.2 IP, 26 R (23 ER), 53 K/13 BB, 1.24 WHIP, .246 OBA)
• Tampa Bay Rays: Shane Baz (2022: 3 starts, 0-1, 4.15 ERA, 13 IP, 6 R (6 ER), 15 K/5 BB, 1.08 WHIP, .191 OBA)

Brewers vs. Rays Odds

Game odds are via BetOnline. This article may also feature odds from one or more of our other top reviewed and recommended sportsbooks.

Moneyline

• Milwaukee Brewers +102
• Tampa Bay Rays -120

Over/Under

• OVER 7 (-122)
• UNDER 7 (+100)

Run Line

• Milwaukee Brewers +1.5 (-225)
• Tampa Bay Rays -1.5 (+184)

Woodruff Looking for First Interleague Win Since MLB Debut

On August 4, 2017, Woodruff made his MLB debut in the same venue he’ll pitch in tonight. His debut couldn’t have gone any better, as he pitched 6.1 shutout innings and picked up the win in a 2-0 victory over the Rays.

Since then, Woodruff has made 100 more MLB appearances (85 of them starts), and in that time, he has picked up 32 more MLB wins.

None of those 32 wins have come against American League opposition.

Since his MLB debut, Woodruff has made 11 appearances (10 starts) in Interleague action, and he is 0-6 with a 3.86 ERA in those appearances. Last season, he was 0-3 with a 3.65 ERA in four Interleague starts.

This will be the first matchup against the Rays since his debut, and he and the Brewers could do with a good performance tonight, both with his Interleague history and with his 2022 results in mind.

After finishing with a 2.56 ERA and posting 20 quality starts in 30 starts last season, Woodruff got off to a bad start this season, allowing seven runs in 3.2 innings against the Cubs, and has just two quality starts thus far.

His splits this season tell the tale:

Home and Away Splits for Brandon Woodruff in 2022

• Home (four starts): 4-0, 1.59 ERA, 22.2 IP, 13 H, 4 R (4 ER), 29 K/3 BB, 0.71 WHIP, .169 OBA
• Away (five starts): 1-3, 8.14 ERA, 21 IP, 28 H, 22 ER (19 ER), 24 K/10 BB, 1.81 WHIP, .311 OBA

On the other side, the Rays have lost all three of Baz’s starts this season, each by a run. His last two have been better than his first, but he is still seeking his first 2022 win.

Baz gave up five runs in 2.1 innings in his season debut against the Minnesota Twins on June 11, with all of the damage occurring in a third inning which went single, wild pitch, walk, walk, grand slam, walk, RBI double before he was pulled.

He pitched six excellent shutout innings against the Orioles eleven days ago, but the Rays were blanked 1-0 in Baltimore.

And though he wouldn’t have been credited for the win in his last start, which was against the Yankees this past Wednesday, he left with a 4-1 lead in a game that ended up being a 5-4 loss.

So, whose run of rough results end tonight?

Milwaukee Brewers vs. Tampa Bay Rays Prediction and Best Bets

Brewers vs. Rays Prediction: Brewers to win

Brewers vs. Rays Best Bets: Brewers ML (+105 at BetUS) & Brewers to win by 1-3 runs (+185 at BetOnline)

None of Woodruff’s nine starts this season have been a game that was ultimately decided by one run, and only two have come in two-run games.

But there’s a high, high possibility that we see a tight game tonight, as the Rays’ last 12 games and 19 of their 23 games in June have been decided by one or two runs.

This season, the Rays have played an MLB-leading 29 one-run games, while the Brewers have played 24 one-run games, which ranks fifth.

Of Milwaukee’s 24 one-run games, 16 of them have come on the road, while 15 of Tampa Bay’s 29 one-run games have come at home.

So, things line up very well for there to be a lot of value in backing a specific result tonight.

While this tidbit should most certainly be taken with a grain of salt, it is worth it to note that the Brewers have a winning record in series openers, while the Rays have a losing record.

Woodruff’s Interleague struggles may continue after this start, but it will be a nice full circle moment for him to return to the setting of his MLB debut and finally pick up his first Interleague win since then.