Rays vs Tigers Prediction & MLB Odds For Tuesday, September 24th
From Comerica Park in Detroit, we have the Rays and Tigers facing off in an AL matchup. The Tigers are the heavy favorite on the money line, with their odds sitting at -181 compared to the Rays at +152. Today’s over/under line is sitting at 6.5 runs.
First pitch for this one is set for 1:10 PM ET, and BSDET is carrying the game on TV. Ryan Pepiot is starting for the Rays, and the Tigers will go with Tarik Skubal. Tampa Bay is 78-78, while the Tigers are 82-74 and have won two straight.
Betting Odds & Lines for this Game
- Spread: Rays 1.5 (-154) | Tigers -1.5 (+127)
- Total: 6.5
- MoneyLine: Rays +152 | Tigers -181
All Odds are courtesy of (BetMGM | DraftKings | Fanduel | BetRivers)
Rays vs. Tigers Prediction: Moneyline
The Rays’s offense was carried by Jonathan Aranda in their most recent game vs. the Blue Jays. Aranda went only 1/4, but his one hit was a home run, and he drove in two runs. The Rays also got a big game from Brandon Lowe, going 1/4 with a homer.
Shane Baz started for the Rays, going six innings and giving up just one run on four hits. He only had six strikeouts in the outing and got the win.
Tampa Bay is on the road today to take on the Tigers with an overall record of 78-78. The Rays are 4th in the AL East, trailing the Yankees by 14 games. They head into today’s game having won four straight, and they closed the gap in the AL East to the Blue Jays, who are 19.5 games out of first place.
At home, the Rays have gone 42-39 this year and are just under .500 at 36-39 on the road. So far, they have been the favorite in 68 games, going 37-31 in those games. As the underdog, the Rays are 41-47 this season, and they have won three straight games as the underdog.
The Tigers are coming off a game in which they picked up a 4-3 win over the Orioles. This was especially big, as it came on the heels of a three-game losing streak. Detroit was the +107 underdog going into Baltimore. Offensively, the Tigers scored their four runs on only five hits and didn’t hit a home run.
Tyler Holton got the start for the Tigers, going only two innings. He didn’t give up a run, but Detroit pulled him early, and he also issued three walks. Sean Guenther got the win out of the bullpen, and Jason Foley picked up the save.
Detroit is 82-74 overall, and they are 7.5 games behind the Guardians in the AL Central. The Tigers will host the Rays today, and they have won two straight games. Their two-game winning streak comes after dropping the series opener vs. the Orioles.
So far, the Tigers have gone 27-22 against other teams in the AL Central. As the underdog, Detroit is 46-50 this season, and they are 36-24 as the favorite. At home, the Tigers have gone 39-36 compared to 43-38 on the road. Heading into today’s game, the Tigers have won five straight series.
Rays vs. Tigers Prediction: Over/Under
The Tampa Bay Rays are on the road today against the Detroit Tigers, with the over/under line set at 6.5 runs. The combined run average for Rays games this season is 7.9 runs per game. Tampa Bay has an over/under record of 66-82 on the season, and their games have averaged an over/under line of 8 runs. When the over/under line is set at 6.5 runs, the Rays have a record of 1-1. Overall, 98.7% of their games this season have had over/under lines set higher than 6.5 runs. The under has hit in each of their last five games.
For the season, the Rays are averaging just 3.8 runs per game, which is 29th in the league. They have been equally as bad at home and on the road and are also near the bottom of the league in terms of home runs and batting average. As a team, they are batting just .231.
Yandy Diaz comes into the game as the team’s leading hitter, with a batting average of .284, and he also leads the team with 65 RBIs. Diaz is also on a four-game hitting streak. Christopher Morel and Brandon Lowe are the team’s top home run hitters, but Morel is batting just .198 for the season.
The Detroit Tigers are hosting the Tampa Bay Rays today, and the over/under line for the game is set at 6.5 runs. The Tigers have played to the over in 77 of their 152 games this season, and their games have averaged 8.2 runs per game. When the over/under line has been set at 6.5 runs, the Tigers have gone over in all three games.
Over his last eight games, Kerry Carpenter has been swinging a hot bat for the Tigers, going 6/19 with three homers. For the season, he is batting .290, which is the best mark in the lineup right now. Carpenter’s 17 homers is the 2nd most on the team. Riley Greene has gone deep 24 times this season, and his 72 RBIs are the best on the team. However, Greene has struggled of late, going just 8/36 in his last nine games.
As a team, the Tigers are averaging 4.2 runs per game and are 18th in the league in scoring. Their team batting average of .234 is also 18th in the MLB. Detroit’s team OBP is just .299, which is 21st in the league. Overall, they are 17th in home runs and have a collective slugging percentage of .387.
Rays vs. Tigers Prediction: Spread
The Rays are 43-32 against the run line on the road this season, but they have failed to cover in their last two road games. They are 56-32 against the run line as an underdog, and their average run margin in losing games is -3.4.
Ryan Pepiot gets the start for the Rays today as he faces off against the Tigers on the road. So far this season, he has made 24 starts and has a record of 8-6 with a 3.65 ERA. Looking at his overall numbers, Pepiot has a WHIP of 1.13 and opponents are batting .207 this season. In his 24 starts, he has turned in nine quality starts and is averaging 9.74 strikeouts per nine innings. Pepiot’s last outing came on September 18th, where he finished with a no-decision, going six innings and giving up one earned run on 12 strikeouts. The right-hander has not given up more than three earned runs in an outing since August 1st.
Despite being a .500 team overall, the Tigers have been a profitable team to bet on this season, going 84-72 on the run line. They have been especially good on the road, going 51-30 against the run line. They have been a better bet as the underdog, going 62-34 against the run line, compared to 22-38 as the favorite.
Tarik Skubal has been pitching well for the Tigers, coming into the game with a record of 17-4 and an ERA of 2.48. He has made 30 starts this season and has pitched well at home, going 9-1 with a 2.15 ERA. Skubal’s last outing came on September 18th, where he picked up the win, going five innings and giving up just one earned run. Looking back at his last four outings, Skubal has given up no more than two earned runs in any of them. His WHIP for the season is an impressive 0.94, and he has a total of 221 strikeouts, which ranks second in the league.
Rays vs. Tigers Pick: Over 6.5 Runs -121
Our predictions for this Rays vs. Tigers matchup is to take the Tigers to win at home. We have the Tigers winning this one by a score of 5-4. However, with the Tigers being -181 on the money line, we recommend taking the over, as the line is sitting at 6.5 runs.
Looking at the starting pitchers, we have Tarik Skubal finishing with six strikeouts compared to Ryan Pepiot with five. However, Skubal is projected to finish with the second-most earned runs among today’s starters, with Pepiot finishing ninth.
