Rays vs. Braves Prediction, Odds, Probable Pitchers, Prop Bets for Wednesday, Sept. 9

The Tampa Bay Rays pulled off an upset on Tuesday night, knocking off the NL East-leading Atlanta Braves, 7-1.

Tampa Bay remains in the top spot in the AL East, four games up on the New York Yankees, who also won on Tuesday.

Atlanta didn’t lose any ground in the NL East with Tuesday’s loss, as the Philadelphia Phillies dropped their series opener with the Houston Astros. Still, both Tampa Bay and Atlanta have to finish the season strong if they want to clinch their respective divisions.

Griffin Jax will get the start for the Rays after they converted him from a relief role earlier in the season. As a starter, Jax has a 3.38 ERA across 19 appearances.

He’ll take on Reynaldo Lopez (3.64 ERA), who is coming off the injured list after missing the last month-plus with knee inflammation. Lopez has thrown 71.2 innings as a hybrid pitcher, making 11 starts in his 24 appearances.

Let’s take a look at the odds, a player prop to bet and my prediction for Game 2 of this series on Wednesday night.

Rays vs. Braves Odds, Run Line and Total

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook

Run Line

Rays +1.5 (-199)
Braves -1.5 (+163)

Moneyline

Rays: +104
Braves: -125

Total

8.5 (Over -102/Under -118)

Rays vs. Braves Probable Pitchers

Tampa Bay: Griffin Jax (6-10, 3.82 ERA)
Atlanta: Reynaldo Lopez (4-3, 3.64 ERA)

Rays vs. Braves How to Watch

Date: Wednesday, Sept. 9
Time: 7:15 p.m. EST
Venue: Truist Park
How to Watch (TV): MLB Network, BravesVision, Rays.TV
Rays record: 86-58
Braves record: 85-60

Rays vs. Braves Best MLB Prop Bets

Rays Best MLB Prop Bet

Junior Caminero to Hit a Home Run (+270)

Could Junior Caminero hit his 40th homer of the 2026 season? The Tampa Bay star is one of my favorite home run targets, which I shared in today’s edition of Daily Dinger:

Caminero has 39 home runs in the 2026 season, and 31 of them have come against right-handed pitching. He has an .886 OPS against righties, making him an intriguing target against the Braves and righty Reynaldo Lopez.

This season, Lopez has worked both as a starter and a reliever, allowing 10 home runs in just over 71 innings of work.

He’s set to make his first appearance since July, where he allowed four home runs in five starts. So, Lopez is certainly vulnerable against one of the best power hitters in the league.

Caminero has homered four times over the last two weeks (12 games) while posting a .319 batting average and a .996 OPS. While I’m not a huge fan of the price (+270) for him on Wednesday, I do think he’s one of the better options in this 15-game slate.

Rays vs. Braves Prediction and Pick

Both of these starters have some shaky advanced numbers this season, and the Tampa Bay bullpen (4.09 ERA) may have to eat some innings since Jax doesn’t usually give the Rays a ton of length.

Expected ERA

Jax: 4.56 (27th percentile)
Lopez: 4.63 (25th percentile)

Expected BAA

Jax: .258 (25th percentile)
Lopez: .256 (28th percentile)

Barrel Percentage

Jax: 9.2% (19th percentile)
Lopez: 7.7% (46th percentile)

Hard-Hit Percentage

Jax: 41.0% (27th percentile)
Lopez: 36.4% (67th percentile)

These teams combined for eight runs in Game 1, and I’m not sure how long the Braves will be able to rely on Lopez in his first appearance since July. Plus, Tampa Bay has jumped to fifth in MLB in Weighted Runs Created Plus and has the best batting average in baseball.

The Braves’ offense ranks in the top half of the league in batting average and is ninth in runs scored in 2026.

I’ll bet on a high-scoring affair on Wednesday night.

Pick: OVER 8.5 (-102 at DraftKings)

Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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