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2 min read

Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Junior Caminero is a solid prop target on Sept. 9.

Betting odds, pick and prediction for the Tampa Bay Rays-Atlanta Braves matchup on Wednesday night.
Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Junior Caminero is a solid prop target on 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.

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook

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.

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.

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.

If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-GAMBLER.

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It was published on September 9, 2026 and last updated on October 9, 2026. The time of the story is shown in your own time zone on the page.

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