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Two of the top three teams in the American League face off as the Tampa Bay Rays visit the Texas Rangers. It is time to continue our MLB odds series with a Rays-Rangers prediction, pick, and how-to watch.
Over the weekend the Rays took two of three from the Royals, falling 8-4 in their last game. Still, even with the winning series, the Rays have continued to see their lead in the AL East shrink. they have won just three of their last ten games and sit at 60-36 on the season. In the last two weeks, the Orioles have gone from six games back of the Rays to just one. It is a tight race in the AL East that the Rays hope to hold on to.
The Rangers come in after sweeping the Guardians. they scored 20 runs in just three games while allowing just nine. That makes them winners of five of their last ten games, and 55-39 overall. The record is good enough for a three-game lead in the AL West, and good for the third-best record in the American League.
Here are the Rays-Rangers MLB odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
MLB Odds: Rays-Rangers Odds
Tampa Bay Rays: -1.5 (+128)
Texas Rangers: +1.5 (-154)
Over: 8.5 (-122)
Under: 8.5 (+100)
How To Watch Rays vs. Rangers
TV: BSSUN/BSSW
Stream: MLB.TV
Time: 8:05 PM ET/ 5:05 PM PT
*Watch MLB games LIVE with fuboTV (click for a free trial)*
Why The Rays Could Cover The Spread
The Rays may be one of the most complete teams in baseball. On the offensive end they are second in the majors in runs scored this year. Meanwhile, they are eighth in batting average, seventh in on-base percentage, and third in slugging. Randy Arozarena is leading the way for them. He is 16th in the majors with 59 RBIs, while also hitting 16 home runs and batting .27. That gives him 28th rank OPS on the season. It has not been the best month for Arozarena so far though. He is hitting just .209 this month with a home run and two RBIs. He has scored six times, but with just nine, he has struggled.
Yandy Diaz is hitting well this year, sitting fourth in the majors in batting average. This has led to him scoring a team-leading 58 times this year, a top 20 mark in the majors. He has been out of the line-up though, and could be back in this series. He went on the paternity list after the All-Star game. Still, the lineup has Wander Franco, who is second in the majors in WAR this year and leads the American League. Like Arozarena, he has struggled some this month. He is hitting just .220 on the month with a .313 OBP. He has scored five runs and driven in four. Franco does have two home runs and a double this month.
Luke Raley is coming in off a solid series. He went 5-11 in the series while driving in three runs. Raley has been driving in a fair amound of runs as of late. While hitting .273 on the month, he has two home runs and eight RBIs. He has also scored three times and hit three doubles. Raley has been much better on the road this year than at home. He is hitting .323 on the road and has 25 of his 39 RBIs on the road. Raley has also hit 10 of his 15 homers on the road this year.
For the Rays, Shane McClanahan returns from the IL. He is 11-1 on the season with a 2.53 ERA. McClanahan has not pitched since June 30th, but he has a solid month until that last outing. His last outing was the worst of the year, giving up four runs in just three innings of work. If he can get back to his season norm, it should be a good night for the Rays.
Why The Rangers Could Cover The Spread
The Rangers enter the game with the best offense in baseball. They are first in runs scored this year, first in batting average and on-base percentage, while sitting second in slugging. They are led by Adolis Garcia. Garcia leads the majors with 80 RBIS and is tied for seventh in the majors with 24 home runs this year. In July he is hitting .292 with four home runs and 14 RBIs. He has five RBIs in the series with the Guardians while also scoring four times. That given him 13 runs scored in the month, as he continued to produce.
Josh Jung is also having a productive month. He is hitting .280 in July with two home runs and nine RBIs. Jung also has four doubles and has scored six times. He has struggled some with strikeouts. He has struck out 18 times this month, including one strikeout in all but one game this month. Joining Jung with a hot month is Corey Seager. Seager is hitting .396 on the month with six RBIs and thre home runs. He also has six doubles this month. What has been impressive has been his run-scoring. Seager has scored 12 times this month and scored a run in all but three games this month.
Nathaniel Lowe continues the parade of hot bats this month. He is hitting .306 on the month with five RBIs. Lowe has hit two home runs and scored eight times this month as well. He also had five doubles on the month with a .370 OBP. Travis Jankowski is hitting .400 on the month as well. He has seven RBIs with the help of a home run. He has also scored four times this month.
The Rangers send Dane Dunning to the mount today for the start. This year he is 8-2 with a 2.84, and an impressive 5-0 at home this season. Dung has been consistent this year as a starter. Since becoming a starter in May, he has gone over five innings in every start. Last time out was one of his worst outings, giving just four runs in 5.2 innings of work.
Final Rays-Rangers Prediction & Pick
The Rays have McClanahan going to the mound today, which automatically gives them a boost. This year, the Rays have lost only twice when McClanahan has started. Still, the Rangers are 7-5 when Dunning has been on the mound this year, including 4-1 at home. McClanahan does give the Rays the edge in pitching, but the batting is a major differnece. Many of the Rays have cooled off as of late, and some have struggled completely. Meanwhile, many Rangers are getting hot and playing better. These teams played in June with the Rays taking two of three at home. It will be the reverse this time. Pick the Rangers to cover over the Rays in this one.
Final Rays-Rangers Prediction & Pick: Rangers +1.5 (-154)
