The American League Wild Card series of the MLB continues on Saturday, October 8, in Cleveland, and here you can take a look at the best Rays vs. Guardians betting pick and odds.

Tampa Bay and Cleveland will play the second of a best-of-three ALWC series at Progressive Field, and the Guardians are -115 moneyline favorites on MyBookie Sportsbook, while the total is set at 5.5 runs. These AL rivals have met six times this season before this series, and the Guardians lead 4-2. Cleveland also won the opening game of the current series.

Rays registered just three hits in a loss to the Guardians

The Tampa Bay Rays opened the ALWC series with a 2-1 road loss to the Cleveland Guardians. They couldn’t expect to win a playoff game with miserable three hits opposite Cleveland’s eight. The Rays did take a 1-0 lead in the up 6th inning, but the hosts answered in the very same inning and the result remained the same until the end.

Jose Siri hit a solo home run, his eighth of the campaign, but that was everything from the visitors when it comes to offense in this loss. Tampa Bay didn’t have a single individual with a multi-hit game. Shane McClanahan took a loss after pitching for 7.0 innings and allowing two runs on seven hits with five strikeouts and no walks.

Tyler Glasnow (0-0) will start for the 3rd time this year when he faces the Guardians on Saturday. After coming back from a lengthy injury, Glasnow pitched for 3.0 innings against Cleveland on September 29 and then 3.2 innings against the Red Sox a few days ago. He has a 1.35 ERA, 0.90 WHIP, and 10/2 K/BB ratio in those 6.2 innings.

Jose Ramirez led the Guardians to the win over the Rays

The Cleveland Guardians made the first step toward the next round of the MLB playoffs after defeating the Tampa Bay Rays 2-1 in the opening game of the ALWC series. Although the Rays took a 1-0 lead in the 6th inning, that was brief as the Guardians answered right back and win the game in the end.

Jose Ramirez blasted a two-run homer in the bottom 6th as Amed Rosario scored a run. These two players were the only ones in the game with a multi-hit display. Shane Bieber was credited with a win after pitching for 7.2 innings and surrendering a run on three hits with eight strikeouts and a walk in a dominant performance. Emmanuel Clase earned his 43rd save of the campaign.

Triston McKenzie (11-11) is getting his first-career postseason start when he takes on Tampa Bay on Saturday. The 25-year-old right-hander started 30 games this year and registered an excellent 2.96 ERA, 0.95 WHIP, and 190/44 K/BB ratio across 191.1 innings of work.

Trends:

  • 4-1 in the last five Wild Card Round games

Cleveland:

  • 1-8 in the last nine playoff games
  • 1-4 in the last five playoff home games

Tampa Bay Rays vs. Cleveland Guardians Pick

I don’t think the Rays are going to lose Game 2 of this ALWC series because this time around, they are not facing Shane Bieber. With all due respect to Triston McKenzie, he doesn’t have the required playoff experience, so the fact that he pitched very well in his lone start against the Rays this year is not crucial. Tyler Glasnow has more experience and eight starts in the postseason opposite McKenzie’s zero, so I am going with the Rays to get an edge on Saturday. It’s a win-or-go-home situation for Tampa, and I believe they are good enough to win.

Pick: Take the Rays to win (-105)

The Total

An extremely low total of 5.5 runs is like a magnet for the bettors who prefer betting on Over, such as myself. I know that Glasnow allowed just one run in 6.2 innings of work since returning from an injury, but that’s not a big sample and I think the Guardians will score two or three against him here. Also, I am going with the Rays to trouble young McKenzie and score multiple runs off of him. Over is 7-3 in the Rays’ last ten playoff games; Over is 4-1 in Tampa Bay’s previous five playoff road games, while Over is 6-1 in the Guardians’ last seven overall.

Pick: Go Over 5.5 runs (-110)