Houston Astros vs Tampa Bay Rays Betting Pick & Prediction 8/14/24
At 6:50 PM ET, the Astros and Rays face off in an AL matchup. This one is being played at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, and the Astros are the favorites on the money line (-121). The money line odds for the Rays are sitting at +102, and the over/under line is at 8 runs.
Houston comes into the game on a seven-game winning streak and is 64-55 overall. The Rays are 4th in the AL East with a record of 59-60 and will be looking to snap a two-game skid. Ronel Blanco is starting for the Astros, while the Rays are going with Zack Littell.
HOUSTON ASTROS VS TAMPA BAY RAYS BETTING PICK
The Pick: Houston Astros Moneyline -121
This game will be played at Tropicana Field at 6:50 ET on Wednesday, August 14th.
HOW TO BET THE ASTROS VS RAYS:
- We have the Astros winning by a score of 5 to 4
- However, if you’re looking for a run line pick, we like the Rays to cover
- As for an over/under pick, we have this game finishing with 9 runs and like the over
Houston picked up a 3-2 road win over the Rays in the most recent game of this series. The Astros had a two-run lead heading into the 8th inning, and the Rays could only muster one run in the 8th. As for the starting pitching matchup, Yusei Kikuchi went 5 2/3 innings for the Astros, giving up just one run and striking out five. He did not factor in the decision as Josh Hader got the win out of the bullpen. Shane Baz had a good outing for the Rays, going seven innings and giving up three runs on seven hits.
Alex Bregman and Jeremy Pena each homered for the Astros, while Yainer Diaz had a two-hit game and drove in a run. Tampa Bay’s two homers came from Austin Meadows and Randy Arozarena.
With the win, the Astros are now at -125 on the money line for the next game of this series.
Astros Records & Stats
The Astros are on a seven-game winning streak, and they lead the AL West by 1.5 games over the Mariners. So far, they have gone 21-18 in divisional games. At home, the Astros are 32-26 this year, and they have the same 32-29 record on the road.
As the favorite, the Astros are 48-39 this year, and they are an even 16-16 as the underdog. Houston has won seven straight games on the road, and their overall record is 64-55 this year. The Astros have an overall series record of 21-16-1 and have won two straight series.
When the Astros win, they do so by an average of 3.8 runs per game, which has helped them to a 61-58 run line record. They are 34-27 against the run line on the road, where they have a scoring margin of 0.2 runs per game. As the underdog, they are 21-11 vs. the run line.
The Houston Astros are on the road today against the Tampa Bay Rays, and the over/under line for the game is set at 8 runs. The combined run average for Astros games this season is 8.7 runs, and their over/under record is 47-68. When the over/under line is set at 8 runs, their record is 7-11-2. Overall, 63.0% of their games have had higher over/under lines than 8 runs, and their current under streak is at 2 games.
Houston is sending Ronel Blanco to the mound today vs. the Rays, and he comes in with a record of 9-6 and an ERA of 3.02. Blanco’s WHIP for the season is currently 1.05. Out of his 22 starts, Blanco has turned in 11 quality starts, one complete game shutout, and one complete game. In his last outing, Blanco finished with a no-decision, giving up two earned runs in four innings of work. Before that, he had given up at least two earned runs in three straight starts. Blanco has allowed a homer in three straight outings.
Heading into today’s game, the Astros are 2nd in team batting average at .262 and are averaging 4.6 runs per game (12th). They have been even better at home, averaging 4.8 runs per contest. Houston’s offense has been led by Yordan Alvarez, who is hitting .306 with a team-high 25 home runs and 64 RBIs. Alvarez has five homers over his last seven games and is batting .423 during that stretch.
Alex Bregman has also been on a tear of late, going 15/32 with four homers and seven RBIs over his last seven games. For the season, he is batting .263 with 19 homers. Bregman’s eight-game hitting streak is the longest on the team right now. Yainer Diaz is also on a hot streak, as he is 7/26 in his last seven games and is batting .301 for the season.
Rays Records & Stats
Tampa Bay is 59-60 overall, and they trail the Yankees by 11 games in the AL East. Currently, they are 4th in the division and have gone 17-23 against other teams in the AL East. The Rays have dropped two straight games, and they are looking to avoid losing three straight for the first time this year, as they have not lost three straight as the underdog.
At home, the Rays are 31-33 this year compared to 28-27 on the road. As the underdog, the Rays are 28-33 this year and 31-27 when favored. Tampa Bay’s overall record is just below .500, and they have gone 4-6 over their last 10 games.
When the Rays win, they win big, with an average run margin of 2.8 runs per game. However, when they lose, they lose big, with an average run margin of -3.6 runs per game. Their overall run line record is 59-60, but they’ve been much better on the road, going 34-21 compared to 25-39 at home. They’ve been a much better bet as the underdog, going 37-24 compared to 22-36 as the favorite.
Today’s over/under line of 8 runs is right in line with the Rays’ season average of 8.2 runs per game. The over/under record for the Rays this season is 54-60, with a 13-18-1 record in games with an over/under line of 8 runs. The under has hit in each of the Rays’ last three games, and 37% of their games this season have had an over/under line of 8 runs.
Zack Littell is starting for the Rays today and comes into the game with a record of 5-8 and an ERA of 4.12. This year, he has made 23 starts and eight of them have been quality starts. Littell’s WHIP for the season is 1.35, and he is averaging 8.16 strikeouts per nine innings. In his last outing, Littell took the loss, giving up three earned runs in five innings of work. Before that, he had won two straight starts. The right-hander has been much better at home, coming in with an ERA of 3.25 compared to 6.77 on the road.
So far this season, the Rays offense has been one of the worst in the league, averaging just 3.9 runs per game (28th) and batting a collective .232 (19th). They are also near the bottom of the league in home runs and slugging percentage. However, they do come into the game with a collective on-base percentage of .309, which is 12th in the league. Tampa Bay’s offense has been even worse at home, averaging just 3.6 runs per game.
Yandy Diaz has been the Rays most consistent hitter this season, batting .270 with 10 homers and 51 RBIs. Christopher Morel leads the team with 20 homers but has a batting average of just .190. Morel and Morel have both gone deep 14 times this season. In terms of recent performances, Brandon Lowe has two homers in his last nine games but is batting just .237 in that stretch.