Rays vs Guardians Prediction & MLB Odds For Friday, September 13th
Cleveland comes into this AL matchup vs. the Rays as the heavy favorite on the money line, with their odds sitting at -176 compared to the Rays at +148. The over/under line is currently at 7.5 runs, and the game will be played at 7:10 PM ET from Progressive Field in Cleveland, OH. Tampa Bay is 4th in the AL East, while the Guardians are 1st in the AL Central.
As for the forecast for Friday’s matchup, it looks like there will be clear skies and temperatures in the low 80s in Cleveland. BSSUN is carrying this game on TV. Zack Littell is starting for the Rays, and he is facing off against Tanner Bibee for the Guardians.
Betting Odds & Lines for this Game
- Spread: Rays 1.5 (-151) | Guardians -1.5 (+126)
- Total: 7.5
- MoneyLine: Rays +148 | Guardians -176
All Odds are courtesy of (BetMGM | DraftKings | Fanduel | BetRivers)
Rays vs. Guardians Prediction: Moneyline
Tampa Bay picked up a 5-2 road win over the Guardians in the most recent game of this series. The Rays had a huge 4th inning, scoring all five of their runs. As for the Guardians, they scored their only two runs in the 5th. Heading into the game, the Rays were at +119 on the money line.
Ryan Pepiot only went two innings for the Rays but gave up just two hits and two earned runs. Cole Sulser got the win out of the bullpen, and Richard Lovelady got the save. Gavin Williams had a rough outing for the Guardians, giving up three earned runs in 5 1/3 innings of work.
Brandon Lowe and José Caballero each homered for the Rays, while Yandy Díaz scored twice and drove in a run while going 2/3. For the Guardians, Franmil Reyes went 2/4 with an RBI.
Tampa Bay is 72-75 overall, putting them 4th in the AL East, 13 games behind the Yankees for the division lead. So far, they have gone 19-24 in AL East matchups. The Rays are coming off a loss in the series finale vs. the Red Sox but took the first two games of that series.
At home, the Rays are 37-38 this year and have gone 35-37 on the road. So far, they have been the favorite in 65 games, going 35-30 in those matchups. As the underdog, the Rays are 37-45 this year. Tampa Bay’s overall series record is 22-19-6, and they are currently up 1-0 in their series vs. the Guardians. Heading into today’s game, they have gone 5-5 over their last 10.
Cleveland is 84-63 overall and leads the AL Central by four games over the Royals. The Guardians will take on the Rays today at home, and they are 43-26 at home this season. So far, they have gone 27-21 against other teams in the AL Central.
The Guardians are hoping to bounce back today after dropping the first game of the series vs. the Rays. This season, the Guardians have an overall series record of 27-15-5. As the favorite, Cleveland has gone 59-31 and 38-19 as the favorite at home. Their overall record as the underdog is 25-32.
Rays vs. Guardians Prediction: Over/Under
The Tampa Bay Rays are on the road today against the Cleveland Guardians, and the over/under line is set at 7.5 runs. The combined run average for Rays games this season is 8.1 runs, and their over/under record is 65-74. When the over/under line is set at 7.5 runs, their record is 23-26. Overall, 56.5% of their games have had higher over/under lines than 7.5 runs, and their current under streak is at 2 games.
For the season, the Rays are averaging just 3.9 runs per game, which is the worst in the league. They are also near the bottom of the league in home runs, batting average, and slugging percentage. However, they do have two hitters on good streaks right now, as Yandy Diaz and Jonathan Aranda have both hit safely in five straight games. Diaz is also batting .429 over his last six games and is the team’s leading hitter for the season at .284.
Brandon Lowe has struggled this season, batting just .244, but he has gone 3/10 in his last four games with two homers. For the season, he is 2nd on the team with 18 homers. Christopher Morel is the team’s leader in homers with 21, but he is batting just .197.
Today’s over/under line of 7.5 runs for the Cleveland Guardians’ home game against the Tampa Bay Rays is slightly lower than their season average of 8 runs per game. The Guardians have played 103 games with higher over/under lines than 7.5, which accounts for 70.1% of their games this season.
Jose Ramirez and Josh Naylor have been one of the best 1-2 punches in terms of power in the league this season, as Ramirez’s 34 homers are 8th in the league and Naylor’s 29 homers are 12th. Ramirez’s 106 RBIs are 2nd in the league, and Naylor is 5th in the MLB with 101 RBIs. Ramirez comes into the game on a five-game hitting streak, while Lane Thomas has gone 8/21 in his last five games.
As a team, the Guardians are averaging 4.5 runs per game and are 6th in the league in home runs. They have been a better offensive team at home this season, averaging 4.9 runs per game. Overall, the team’s batting average of .238 is 16th in the league.
Rays vs. Guardians Prediction: Spread
When betting the run line, the Tampa Bay Rays have been a profitable team to back, as they are 76-71 on the run line this season. They have been especially good on the run line on the road, going 42-30. They are also on a two-game run line win streak on the road and as an underdog. Overall, their average run margin is -0.4 runs per game.
Tampa Bay is sending right-hander Zack Littell to the mound today as he faces the Guardians on the road. Littell has made 26 starts this year and has a record of 6-9 with a 3.89 ERA. Looking at his overall numbers, Littell has a WHIP of 1.33 and has issued just 2.01 walks per nine innings compared to 7.92 strikeouts. In his last outing, Littell picked up the win, going five innings and not giving up a run to the Orioles. Before that, he had given up at least one homer in three straight outings. So far, he has allowed 21 homers.
When the Cleveland Guardians win, they do so by an average margin of 3.3 runs per game, which is significantly higher than their overall run differential of 0.5 runs per game. They have a winning record against the run line overall (74-73) and on the road (41-37), but they have a losing record against the run line at home (33-36). They have been the favorite in more games than they have been the underdog, but they have a better record against the run line as the underdog (32-25) compared to when they are the favorite (42-48).
Cleveland is sending right-hander Tanner Bibee to the mound today vs. the Rays. He has made 28 starts this season and has a record of 11-7 with a 3.56 ERA. Bibee’s WHIP for the season is currently 1.13. In his last outing, he took the loss, giving up two earned runs in five innings of work vs. the Dodgers. Before that, he had won two straight starts. One of those wins came vs. the Royals, where he gave up just one earned run in six innings of work. Bibee has a total of nine quality starts this season.
Rays vs. Guardians Pick: Over 7.5 Runs -107
Our prediction for today’s Rays vs. Guardians game is to take the over, with the line sitting at 7.5 runs. Our predicted final score is 5-4 in favor of the Guardians, giving us some room if you wanted to take the Guardians on the money line.
Looking at today’s starters, Zack Littell is projected to finish with just four strikeouts, and we have Tanner Bibee with six. If you’re looking for a player prop bet, you could take Bibee’s over on his strikeout total.
