The Tampa Bay Rays look to take a commanding lead vs. the Houston Astros in their AL Championship Series Tuesday as Game 3’s first pitch is scheduled for 8:40 p.m. ET (on TBS) at San Diego’s Petco Park. After playing the first two games as the visitors, the sixth-seeded Astros will be the home team for the next two games and Game 5 if necessary. Below, we analyze the Rays-Astros MLB betting odds and lines, with picks and best bets.
Best-of-seven series: Rays lead 2-0 after Monday’s 4-2 victory. The top-seeded Rays were outhit 10-4, but two of their hits were homers by OF Manuel Margot (three-run shot in bottom of first inning) and C Mike Zunino (solo blast in seventh).
Rays vs. Astros: Projected starting pitchers
LHP Ryan Yarbrough vs. RHP Jose Urquidy
Yarbrough was 1-4 with a 3.56 ERA (55 2/3 IP, 22 ER) in 9 starts and 2 relief appearances this season.
- Last outing (only 2020 postseason appearance): No-decision, 5 IP, 2 ER, 6 H, 1 BB, 1 K vs. New York Yankees in Game 4 of the ALDS Thursday – Rays lost 5-1
- Career vs. Astros (regular season): 0-1, 2.92 ERA (12 1/3 IP, 4 ER) in 2 games, including 1 start
- 2019 ALDS vs. Astros: 1-0, 0.00 ERA (3 IP, 0 ER), 2 H, 1 B, 1 K in 3 relief appearances
- Career postseason: 1-0, 2.25 ERA (8 IP, 2 ER) in 4 relief outings
Urquidy finished the regular season 1-1 with a 2.73 ERA (29 2/3 IP, 9 ER) in 5 starts.
- Last start: No-decision, 4 1/3 IP, 5 R, 4 ER, 5 H, 1 BB, 3 K, 4 HR vs. Oakland Athletics in Game 3 of the ALDS last Wednesday – Rays lost 9-7
- Career vs. Rays: Regular season: 0 appearances | Postseason: 1 2/3 scoreless innings, 3 H, 1 BB, 3 K in 1 relief appearance (2019)
- 2020 postseason: 0-0, 5.19 ERA (8 2/3 IP, 5 ER) in 2 starts
- Career postseason: 1-0, 2.89 ERA (18 2/3 IP, 6 ER) in 3 starts and 3 relief appearances
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Rays vs. Astros: Key injuries
(Get the latest injury news here.)
Rays
- RP Oliver Drake (hand) out
Astros
- OF Yordan Alvarez (knee) out for season
- RP Roberto Osuna (elbow) out for season
Rays vs. Astros: Odds, lines, picks and betting tips
MLB odds courtesy of BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports for a full list. Odds last updated at 5:12 a.m. ET.
Prediction
Astros 4, Rays 3
Money line (ML)
Despite losing on them Monday night, I’m making the ASTROS (+100) my STRONGEST PLAY again – which should be 1.5 times your usual wager.
They’ve outhit the Rays (-110) in both games, but they’re just not coming up with the big hits when they need ’em. They’re too good of a team to drop three in a row. Take HOUSTON (+100) for the win.
New to sports betting? Every winning $1 bet on the Astros ML profits $1. Every $1.10 bet on the Rays ML (-110) profits $1 if they come out on top.
Run line/Against the spread (ATS)
Rays -1.5 (+140) | Astros +1.5 (-167)
AVOID. The Rays’ +140 is tempting, especially if you believe Tampa Bay goes up 3-0. Since I’m backing the Houston ML, I can’t make an RL wager here.
Over/Under (O/U)
I’m going to ride the UNDER 8.5 (-115) train again. Houston relievers now haven’t allowed a run in six of their eight postseason games. You should know the Tampa Bay bullpen story by now – a 3.37 ERA during the regular season.
The Under, 2-0 in the series so far, hits again!
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| Johnny’s 2020 MLB record | 72-50-1 |
| 2020 MLB postseason / Strongest plays | 8-13 / 3-6 |
| 2020 overall record (all sports) | 114-84-3 |
| Strongest plays (all sports) | 57-33-1 |
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