Houston Astros at Tampa Bay Rays Betting Preview
The Houston Astros (98-51) will look to finish the sweep in the finale of a three-game set Wednesday as they take on the Tampa Bay Rays (82-66). This game will be played at Tropicana Field, with the first pitch scheduled for 6:40 pm ET.
On Tuesday, Houston defeated Tampa Bay 5-0 behind five scoreless innings by Christian Javier. Jeremy Pena hit his 19th home run of the season in the victory.
For Tampa Bay, Shane McClanahan picked up his sixth loss of the season after giving up five runs in four innings of work. The offense managed just three hits in the defeat.
The Astros are the favorites Wednesday despite playing on the road. They are -126 to win, while the Rays’ moneyline sits at +108. The runline features Tampa Bay +1.5 (-160), and the over/under for total runs is seven.
Astros Look To Keep Rolling
At 98-51, the Houston Astros have clinched the AL West and are looking to clinch the best record in the American League. Having won nine of their last ten games, they are well on their way to doing that and will look to sweep the Rays on Wednesday.
On the mound for Dusty Baker’s club will be righty Lance McCullers Jr. In six games, he is 3-1 with a 2.34 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, and he has struck out 37 in 34.2 innings.
McCullers has gone 2-0 in his last three starts, and he has given up two runs in each of those three starts. Over that span, he has thrown 18.2 innings and struck out 24.
Offensively, Kyle Tucker continued his torrid season by hitting his 100th run batted in Tuesday. On the season, he is now hitting .262/.335/.486 with 28 home runs, 100 runs batted in, 67 runs scored, and 22 stolen bases.
After getting the night off Tuesday, expect Yordan Alvarez to be back in the lineup Wednesday. He leads the team in home runs (37) and is second in both runs (91) and runs batted in (94).
Rays Fighting For Postseason Positioning
With a 5.5-game lead on the Baltimore Orioles, it appears that the Tampa Bay Rays are in good shape to make the postseason via a Wild Card spot.
Still, the Rays are battling with both the Mariners and Blue Jays for postseason positioning heading into the last 14 games of the season.
Taking the ball for Wednesday’s finale for Tampa Bay will be 36-year-old Corey Kluber. In 28 games, he is 10-9 with a 4.44 ERA and 1.19 WHIP, and he has struck out 128 in 148 innings.
Kluber is trying to break a string of back-to-back losses. In those two losses, he has given up ten earned runs on 17 hits in just 6.1 innings.
Outfielder Randy Arozarena has been Tampa Bay’s best hitter this season. In 537 at bats, he is hitting .264/.329/.447 with a team-leading 19 home runs, 79 runs batted in, and 30 stolen bases.
Expect Houston To Sweep
Even though Tampa Bay is solid, the Astros are just playing on a whole different level right now. They are 9-1 in their last ten games, 4-1 in their last five games at Tropicana Field, and they are undefeated in their last six road games overall.
Conversely, the Rays are struggling a bit as they are just 4-8 in their last 12 games and have lost three of their last five.
Corey Kluber certainly has the capability of a shutdown game, but the smart money is to take Houston to finish the sweep and win straight up (-126).
