The Houston Astros (98-51) and Tampa Bay Rays (82-66) clash Wednesday at 6:40 p.m. ET as they put a lid on a 3-game set at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla. Let’s analyze Tipico Sportsbook‘s lines around the Astros vs. Rays odds with MLB picks and predictions.
Season series: Houston leads 2-0
The Astros shut out Tampa 4-0 Monday and 5-0 Tuesday. They are now 9-1 over their last 10 games. Houston’s pitching of late has been tremendous. Since Aug. 21, the Astros are 21-6 with a 2.15 ERA.
The Rays had been 16-3 over their previous 19 home games, but they’ve now dropped 2 in a row while mustering just 8 combined hits. Tampa Bay is 4-8 and batting just .231/.298/.337 (.634 OPS) over its last 12 games.
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Astros at Rays projected starters
RHP Lance McCullers, Jr. vs. RHP Corey Kluber
McCullers Jr. (3-1, 2.34 ERA) owns a 1.27 WHIP, 4.9 BB/9 and 9.6 K/9 through 34 2/3 IP over 6 starts.
- Is coming off an 11-strikeout performance in his last turn, which marked his most in a single game since July 29, 2018
- Has exhibited fastball velocity roughly a mile-an-hour slower than last season when he averaged 94.0 mph on that pitch
- Has thrown fewer first-pitch strikes than at any full season of his career, and that has fed into a BB/9 rate which is his highest since 2017.
Kluber (10-9, 4.44 ERA) makes his 29th start. He has a 1.19 WHIP, 1.1 BB/9 and 7.8 K/9 through 148 IP.
- Has seen things go sideways in his last two starts (combined 10 ER on 17 hits over 6 1/3 IP)
- Owns a 2.41 ERA over his last 3 home starts and a 3.92 ERA at home for the season
Astros at Rays odds
Provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 10:37 a.m. ET.
- Money line: Astros -130 (bet $130 to win $100) | Rays +105 (bet $100 to win $105)
- Run line (RL)/Against the spread (ATS): Astros -1.5 (+133) | Rays +1.5 (-165)
- Over/Under (O/U): 7.5 (O: +110 | U: -135)
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Astros at Rays picks and predictions
Prediction
Rays 5, Astros 4
Money line
BACKING THE RAYS (+105) here, almost exclusively due to starting pitching vs. expectations. It’s not that McCullers isn’t supremely talented or that Kluber has not scuffled, but the pricing here rewards the muddy middle, to where regression drains.
Run line/Against the spread
PASS on the more juice-laden Run Line.
Over/Under
With the slightest fade in this game’s overall pitching, but mostly due to an attractive price here, back the OVER 7.5 (+110).
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