Rays vs Indians Prediction
The Rays will play the Indians in a doubleheader on Wednesday afternoon. The first game will be a makeup from Tuesday night after it was postponed due to rain. Each team has played well all year and is looking to gain some momentum into the all-star game. Look below to see my Rays vs Indians prediction in the second game of the doubleheader.
The Cleveland Indians have been alright this year with a record of 42-40. They have been terrible as of late, losing 7 straight games. The Indians lost a tough one to the Rays Monday night with the final score of 9-8. Cleveland really needs at least one of these two games on Thursday afternoon to stop this terrible losing skid.
The Tampa Bay Rays own a 49-36 record, good for 2nd in the NL East. The Rays are 4.5 games back of the Red Sox for first place. They have won their past two games, but prior to those were 5 straight losses. The Rays are looking for the clean sweep of the Indians with a doubleheader on Thursday.
The Cleveland Indians Can’t Complete a Game
The Cleveland Indians looked to be one of the teams that could compete for the World Series earlier on in the year. Now they are fighting for every game and on a horrendous losing streak. The Indian’s offense and defense have been terrible in their past 10 games, as they have dropped 9 of those games. Cleveland must focus and complete at least one of the two contests.
The offense for Cleveland has scored less than three runs in 5 of the last 6 games. In their most recent game, they put up 8 runs but still lost the game. In that matchup, Franmil Reyes recorded 5 RBI’s and a home run with one of his best hitting games of the year. Jose Ramirez has been below average so far with a .268 average, but still 18 home runs.
As for the pitching, the Indians are ranked 20th in ERA and 17th in runs allowed. Sam Hentges will be the starter for the second game of the doubleheader. He comes in with an 8.22 ERA and a 1-3 record. Hentges hasn’t had the best year and will have to face off against a hot Rays lineup who is on a roll. Good luck.
The Rays Continue to Be On and Off
The Rays are now on a two-game winning streak, and the offense has looked very good with 14 runs in the past two contests. The Rays are tied for 6th in total runs, which has boosted the ball club in close games. The Rays will want to win these two games, as they will have a division series versus Toronto they will want to win before the all-star break.
In Monday’s scoring frenzy, the Rays launched 2 home runs and scored 9 runs. Brandon Lowe and Wander Franco were the two hitters to hit long balls and Yandy Diaz and Manuel Margot drove in 2 runs. The Rays snuck out a win at home and this lineup will be ready for back-to-back games on Thursday afternoon.
The pitching has been great for the Rays, as they are 7th in the league for ERA and 9th in runs allowed. Michael Wacha will pitch the first game; then it is TBA for the Rays in the second game. Whoever takes the mound for the second contest should be feeling confident with how the Rays have been hitting and fielding. I’m going to take the Rays with a score of 8-4.
