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A marquee matchup that will surely leave fans on the edge of their seats will take place this evening as the Houston Astros take on the Tampa Bay Rays for an epic showdown between two American League playoff squads! Join us for our MLB odds series, where our Astros-Rays prediction and pick will be revealed.
After the Astros were able to show off their masterful dominance over the Rays yesterday in a 4-0 shutout win that resulted in them winning the AL West division for the fifth time in six years, Houston will return to the diamond on Tuesday with right-hander Cristian Javier getting the nod on the mound with his 9-9 record to go along with his 2.87 ERA.
As for Tampa Bay, the Rays' sticks were shut down in a major way on Monday as they will look for a little more urgency at the plate especially since they were able to reel off three wins in their last four matchups prior to yesterday's shortcomings. Regardless, Tampa Bay will at least have one of their aces on the bump in lefty Shane McClanahan, who is 12-5 with a 2.13 ERA on the year.
Here are the Astros-Rays MLB odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
MLB Odds: Astros-Rays Odds
Houston Astros: +1.5 (-178)
Tampa Bay Rays: -1.5 (+150)
Over: 6 (-118)
Under: 6 (-104)
Why The Astros Could Cover The Spread
Hands down the best team in the American League at the moment, the Astros' extremely lethal way that they go about their business is a major problem for teams around the league. This couldn't be more true in yesterday's matchup, as Houston silenced the Rays' sticks while coming away with some clutch and timely at-bats that ultimately resulted in four runs on the scoreboard. In fact, not only was Monday's triumph the Astros' eighth win in nine games, but they have also been victorious in five straight road games as they sit at 47-28 away from Minute Maid Park throughout the entirety of the season.
In order to cover the spread in back-to-back nights versus the Rays, Houston must come out and continue to batter the baseball over the fence and into the gaps at Tropicana Field. On the season, the ‘Stros have the seventh highest slugging percentage at .424 and have also wreaked havoc on the base paths with a splendid .320 on-base percentage throughout the year. Additionally, Houston also only stranded three men on base throughout the night and were 2-6 with runners in scoring position.
Houston will have to rely on pitchers such as Tuesday's starter Cristian Javier, who has certainly looked over the course of his 2022 work. In his last outing, Javier pitched six scoreless innings against Detroit by using his devastating pitching arsenal to perfection. Throughout his career, Javier has faced the Rays one time dating back to 2021, and received a no-decision after five innings pitched. If the 25-year-old hurler can get in a rhythm early, then the Astros may be unbeatable on Tuesday.
Why The Rays Could Cover The Spread
Unlike some of the Astros' more recent opponents, the Rays are certainly not a team that is going to go down without a fight. With Houston coming off a non-challenging series with the bottom feeder A's over the weekend, Tampa Bay will give the ‘Stros all they got this evening especially since they were left with a bad taste in their mouth in yesterday's 4-0 defeat.
For starters, the obvious issue that Tampa Bay must correct comes at the dish. In an uninspiring five-hit effort that did not inflict any damage in the runs department, the Rays will need their best hitters to have a better showing in order to keep pace with the Astros and their powerful sluggers. On the season, the Rays have hit a respectable .242 as a whole but have often struggled getting guys on base and capitalizing when doing so. Without a doubt, they will need names like third-baseman Yandy Diaz and designated hitter/outfielder Randy Arozarena to come up clutch for them with the sticks if they want to cover the -1.5 run spread as favorites in this one.
As a whole, the Rays have been one of the premier pitching units in all of baseball and have multiple arms that they can turn to that can silence an offense with the blink of an eye. In fact, no other Rays pitcher has been as dominant as expected starter Shane McClanahan, who is an absurd 12-5 on the year and has the second-lowest ERA in the sport with a 2.13 mark. Clearly, the Rays' best plan of attack is to ride the arm of their spectacular southpaw in hopes that he can come up big when it matters most.
Final Astros-Rays Prediction & Pick
When the dust settles for the second game of what should be an absolute battle in Tampa tonight, I believe that the Rays will catch the Astros coming off of a celebratory hangover after the Astros were able to clinch the division last night. Not to mention, but with McClanahan on the mound, the Rays' offense will do just enough to get the job done.
Final Astros-Rays Prediction & Pick: Rays -1.5 (+150)
