Arizona Diamondbacks vs Tampa Bay Rays Betting Pick & Prediction 8/18/24

From Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, we have the Diamondbacks and Rays facing off in an interleague matchup. First pitch for Sunday’s matchup is set for 1:40 PM ET. BSSUN is carrying this game on TV.

The Diamondbacks are looking to snap a two-game losing streak and they are favored on the money line today (-125). The Rays have won two straight and their money line odds are sitting at +105. Today’s pitching matchup is Merrill Kelly for the Diamondbacks and Drew Rasmussen for the Rays. In the NL West, the Diamondbacks are 3rd, while the Rays are 4th in the AL East.

ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS VS TAMPA BAY RAYS BETTING PICK

The Pick: Arizona Diamondbacks Moneyline -125

This game will be played at Tropicana Field at 1:40 ET on Sunday, August 18th.

HOW TO BET THE DIAMONDBACKS VS RAYS:

• We have the Diamondbacks 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

Tampa Bay cruised to an easy 6-1 win over the Diamondbacks in the most recent game of this series. The Rays had a huge 2nd inning, scoring two of their six runs and picking up three of their eight hits. On the other side, the Diamondbacks got on the board with one run in the 5th.

Jeffrey Springs only went five innings for the Rays but gave up just one run and picked up the win. He finished the game with seven strikeouts and allowed just four hits. Zac Gallen struggled on the mound for the Diamondbacks, giving up four earned runs in five innings of work.

Brandon Lowe and Yandy Diaz each had two hits and two RBIs for the Rays’ offense. Taylor Walls also had a two-hit game and drove in a run. Junior Caminero scored twice and drove in a run off the bench.

Diamondbacks Records & Stats

Arizona is 3rd in the NL West, trailing the Dodgers by three games. Overall, the Diamondbacks are 69-55 and have dropped two straight games. Their losing streak includes losing the first two games of this series vs. the Rays. So far, they have gone 22-14 in divisional games.

At home, the Diamondbacks are 37-26 compared to 32-29 on the road. Arizona has won nine straight series, and their overall series record is 22-13-4. As the favorite, the Diamondbacks are 38-23 and 31-32 as the underdog.

The Diamondbacks have been a solid bet on the run line this season, going 63-61 overall. They have been even better on the road, going 34-27 against the run line. They have been a better bet as the underdog, going 39-24 against the run line. Their average run margin in winning games is +4.1, while it is -3.9 in losing games.

The Diamondbacks are on the road today against the Rays, and the over/under line is set at 7.5 runs. Arizona’s games have averaged 9.9 runs per game this season, and their over/under record is 67-50. The average over/under line in their games is 9 runs, and when the line has been set at 7.5 runs, the over has hit in 8 of their 12 games.

Merrill Kelly and the Diamondbacks are on the road to take on the Rays today. Kelly has started three games so far this season, and he has a win in each of his two starts. His last time out, he went 5 innings and gave up 2 earned runs on 3 hits and 2 walks. In his first start of the year, he went 6 innings and gave up 2 runs on 6 hits.

Arizona comes into the game as the league’s top-scoring offense, averaging 5.2 runs per game. They have been even better at home, putting up 5.5 runs per contest. The Diamondbacks are also one of the league’s top home run hitting teams, and they are batting a collective .261, which is the 3rd best mark in the league.

Christian Walker and Ketel Marte have been the team’s top power threats this season, with Marte leading the team with 30 homers and Walker not too far behind with 23. Marte is also hitting .298 for the season, and Walker comes into the game with a batting average of .254. Over his last eight games, Jake McCarthy has gone 13/33 with two homers and 12 RBIs, while Corbin Carroll has gone deep three times in this stretch.

Rays Records & Stats

The Rays are 61-61 overall and trail the Yankees by 11 games in the AL East. Currently, they are in 4th place in the division, four games behind the Red Sox for the final Wild Card spot. Tampa Bay has won two straight games, and they are 4-6 over their last 10 games.

At home, the Rays are 33-34 this year and 28-27 on the road. As the home underdog, the Rays have gone 11-16 this year, and they are 30-34 as the underdog overall. As the favorite, Tampa Bay is 31-27 this year. The Rays have an overall series record of 20-15-4 but have lost three straight series.

The Rays have been a solid bet on the run line this season, going 62-60 overall. They have been especially good on the road, going 34-21 against the run line. They have been a good bet as the underdog, going 40-24 against the run line. Their average run margin in winning games is +2.8, while their average run margin in losing games is -3.6.

The Tampa Bay Rays are playing at home against the Arizona Diamondbacks today. Their combined run average is 8.2 runs per game this season. The over/under record for their games this season is 55-61, and the average over/under line for their games is set at 8 runs. When the line is set at 7.5 runs, their over/under record is 19-21. So far this season, 75 of their games have had over/under lines set higher than 7.5 runs, which accounts for 61.5% of their games.

Drew Rasmussen is getting his first start of the season for the Rays, as he’s coming off a pair of outings where he came out of the bullpen. He went 2 innings in each of those appearances and has yet to allow a run this year. In his most recent outing, he struck out 3 batters in 2 innings against the Astros.

Yandy Diaz comes into the game as the Rays’ top hitter this season, with a batting average of .273 to go along with a team-leading 54 RBIs. He is also on a four-game hitting streak. However, he has not homered in his last nine games. Christopher Morel has really struggled at the plate this season, with a batting average of just .189, but he does lead the team with 20 homers.

As a team, the Rays are averaging just 3.9 runs per game, which is 28th in the MLB. They have been even worse at home, averaging just 3.6 runs per contest. Overall, they are near the bottom of the league in home runs and have a team batting average of just .233.