Rays vs Guardians Prediction & MLB Odds For Saturday, September 14th
Cleveland comes into this AL matchup vs. the Rays looking to end a two-game losing streak, as they are 84-64 overall and in 1st place in the AL Central. Tampa Bay is 73-75 and they have won two straight games. The money line odds have the Guardians at -131 compared to the Rays at +110. First pitch from Progressive Field is set for 6:10 PM ET.
The over/under line is currently 8.5 runs, and BSSUN is carrying this one on TV. Saturday’s starting pitching matchup features Drew Rasmussen for the Rays and Joey Cantillo for the Guardians.
Betting Odds & Lines for this Game
- Spread: Rays 1.5 (-199) | Guardians -1.5 (+159)
- Total: 8.5
- MoneyLine: Rays +110 | Guardians -131
All Odds are courtesy of (BetMGM | DraftKings | Fanduel | BetRivers)
Rays vs. Guardians Prediction: Moneyline
Tampa Bay picked up a 3-1 win over the Guardians in the most recent game of this series. The Rays offense only had two more hits than the Guardians and struck out 11 times, but still picked up a win thanks to a good outing from Zack Littell, who went six innings and didn’t give up a run.
Jonathan Aranda and Jose Siri each had two hits and an RBI for the Rays. Logan Driscoll also homered for Tampa Bay’s only other run. As for the Guardians, Jhonkensy Noel went 2/3 with an RBI.
After scoring one run in the first inning, the Guardians were held in check until they broke out for one run in the 8th. Tanner Bibee started for Cleveland and gave up three earned runs in six innings of work. He did finish the game with nine strikeouts.
Tampa Bay is 73-75 overall, putting them 4th in the AL East, one game behind the Red Sox for 3rd place. Currently, they trail the Yankees by 13 games in the division. The Rays have won two straight games, and they are 5-5 over their last 10.
The Rays have taken a 2-0 series lead over the Guardians heading into today’s matchup. This year, they are 37-38 at home compared to 36-37 on the road. As the underdog, Tampa Bay is 38-45 this year, and they are 25-26 as the road underdog. Their overall series record is 22-19-6.
Cleveland is hosting the Rays today with an overall record of 84-64, which has them leading the AL Central by three games over the Royals. The Guardians have dropped two straight games, and this includes losing the first two games of this series vs. the Rays. So far, they have gone 27-21 in divisional games.
At home, the Guardians are 43-27 this season and have gone 41-37 on the road. As the favorite, Cleveland has put together a record of 59-32 and are 25-32 as the underdog. This year, the Guardians have an overall series record of 27-15-5.
Rays vs. Guardians Prediction: Over/Under
The Tampa Bay Rays are on the road today against the Cleveland Guardians. The over/under line for the game is set at 8.5 runs, which is slightly higher than their combined run average of 8.1. The Rays have an over/under record of 65-75 on the season, and their games have averaged 8 runs per game. When the over/under line has been set at 8.5 runs, their record is 17-17. Their games have had an average over/under line of 8 runs per game, and 68.9% of their games have had lower lines than 8.5 runs. Their games have gone under the total in each of their last 3 games.
Yandy Diaz comes into the game with a five-game hitting streak, during which he has gone 9/21. For the season, he is batting .284 and is the team’s leader in RBIs, with 65. Christopher Morel leads the team with 21 homers but has a batting average of just .198. Brandon Lowe is 2nd on the team with 18 homers and is batting .244.
As a team, the Rays are near the bottom of the league in most offensive categories, including runs per game, home runs, and batting average. They are also one of the worst teams in terms of striking out. Overall, they are averaging just 3.8 runs per game and are batting .231.
Today’s over/under line of 8.5 runs is just above the season average for Cleveland, as the Guardians have played to an average of 8.4 runs per game. Their over/under record for the season is 66-71, and when the line has been set at 8.5 runs, they are 20-20. Cleveland has played to an average line of 8 runs per game this season, and 53.4% of their games have had lower lines than today’s 8.5-run total. The under has hit in each of the Guardians’ last two games.
Jose Ramirez has been one of the league’s top power hitters this season, as his 34 home runs are 8th best in the league and lead the Guardians. His 106 RBIs are also the best on the team and 2nd in the MLB. Ramirez is also currently on a six-game hitting streak. Josh Naylor is 2nd on the team with 29 homers and has driven in 101 runs.
Lane Thomas has been swinging a hot bat for the Guardians, going 7/21 in his last five games with a home run and nine RBIs. Austin Hedges and Bo Naylor have also gone deep in their last two and four games, respectively. Hedges is 1/3 in his last two games, while Naylor is 3/12 in his last four.
Rays vs. Guardians Prediction: Spread
Despite their overall run differential being in the negative, the Rays have been a solid bet on the run line this season, going 77-71. They have been especially good on the road, where they are 43-30 against the run line. They have covered the run line in three straight games and are 53-30 as an underdog this season.
Tampa Bay is sending Drew Rasmussen to the mound today, and he will be looking to bounce back from a rough outing out of the bullpen. In that appearance, which came on September 11th vs. the Phillies, he took the loss, going 1 2/3 innings and giving up one earned run on two hits. Rasmussen has made three starts and 11 appearances this season, and his ERA is 2.79. Opponents have a batting average of .219 vs. Rasmussen this season. One positive note is that he has not allowed a homer in his last three outings.
When the Guardians are at home, they are 33-37 vs. the run line this season. Their average run margin at home is +0.6 runs per game. They are 42-49 vs. the run line as the favorite this season and have lost their last two run line bets at home.
Joey Cantillo will be looking to build off his last outing, where he faced the White Sox and came away with the win. In that September 9th outing, he went seven innings, giving up just one earned run on two hits. Looking at his overall numbers, Cantillo has made five starts and one of them has been a quality start. His record for the season is 1-3, and he has an ERA of 5.96 to go along with a WHIP of 1.25. For the year, Cantillo has allowed six homers and is averaging 8.77 strikeouts per nine innings. His walk per nine figure is 3.16.
Rays vs. Guardians Pick: Guardians ML -131
Our recommendation for this Rays vs. Guardians matchup is to take the Guardians on the money line at -131. We have the Guardians winning this one by a final score of 6-5, giving us some wiggle room with the over/under line sitting at 8.5 runs.
Looking at the starting pitchers, Joey Cantillo is projected to finish with the most strikeouts among today’s starters with eight. As for Drew Rasmussen, his projected strikeout total is five, which is one of the lowest among today’s starters.
