Cleveland Guardians vs Tampa Bay Rays Prediction & Betting Tips 9/13/2024

Cleveland Guardians vs Tampa Bay Rays Preview

Cleveland comes into Friday’s matchup vs. the Rays as the heavy favorite on the money line, with their odds sitting at -176 compared to the Rays at +148. This one has an over/under line of 7.5 runs, and the game will be televised on BSSUN.

First pitch from Progressive Field is set for 7:10 PM ET, and Tampa Bay will be looking to pull off the upset with Zack Littell on the mound. As for the Guardians, they are starting Tanner Bibee and are 1st in the AL Central with a record of 84-63. The Rays are 4th in the AL East, with an overall record of 72-75.

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Cleveland Guardians vs. Tampa Bay Rays Trends and Key Stats

• The Rays are 2-3 in their five most recent road games, including a 4-1 runline record.
• On the other side, the Guardians have gone 3-2 (SU) and 3-2 in their previous five home contests.
• As the favorite, the Guardians are 8-2 over their last ten games, including going 8-2 vs. the runline.
• When playing as the underdog, the Rays have won 5-5 of their previous ten games straight-up, while going 8-2 against the runline.

Tampa Bay picked up a 5-2 road win over the Guardians in the most recent game of this series. The Rays had a huge 4th inning, scoring two of their five runs and picking up three of their six hits. On the other side, the Guardians scored their only two runs in the 5th and finished the game with just five hits.

Ryan Pepiot only went two innings for the Rays but gave up just two hits and two earned runs. Cole Sulser got the win out of the bullpen, and Richard Lovelady got the save. Gavin Williams struggled on the mound for the Guardians, giving up three earned runs in 5 1/3 innings of work.

Brandon Lowe and José Caballero each homered for the Rays, while Yandy Díaz scored twice and drove in a run while going 2/3. For the Guardians, Franmil Reyes went 2/4 with an RBI.

Cleveland Guardians vs Tampa Bay Rays Prediction

Tampa Bay is 72-75 overall this season, putting them 4th in the AL East, 13 games behind the Yankees for the division lead. So far, they have gone 19-24 in AL East matchups. The Rays are playing the Guardians on the road today, and they are 1 game above .500 at 37-38 at home.

As the underdog, the Rays have gone 37-45 this season compared to 35-30 as the favorite. They are 22-19-6 in series this year, and they are 1-0 in this series vs. the Guardians. Tampa Bay’s overall record includes going 35-37 on the road, and they are 5-5 in their last 10 games.

The Rays have been a profitable team to bet on the run line this season, as they are 76-71 overall. They are 42-30 on the run line on the road and have covered in two straight games. They are 52-30 on the run line as an underdog, while they are just 24-41 as a favorite. Tampa Bay’s average run margin in winning games is +2.8, while it is -3.4 in losing games.

When the Tampa Bay Rays are on the road, the over/under line is set at 7.5 runs. The combined run average in their games this season is 8.1 runs, and their over/under record is 65-74. The average over/under line in their games is 8 runs, and when the line is set at 7.5 runs, their record is 23-26. Overall, 56.5% of their games have had over/under lines set higher than 7.5 runs. Their current under streak is at 2 games.

Tampa Bay is sending Zack Littell to the mound today vs. the Guardians, and he comes in with a record of 6-9 and an ERA of 3.89. Littell has made 26 starts this season and has turned in eight quality starts. In his last outing, he didn’t give up a run in five innings of work vs. the Orioles, picking up the win in the outing. Before that, he had given up at least one homer in three straight starts. Littell has a WHIP of 1.33 this season and is averaging 7.92 strikeouts per nine innings.

Yandy Diaz has been swinging the bat well for the Rays of late, going 9/21 in his last six games with a home run and three RBIs. He is also on a five-game hitting streak. For the season, he is batting .284 with a team-high 65 RBIs. Brandon Lowe has also been swinging the bat well of late, going 3/10 in his last four games, with two homers.

As a team, the Rays are 28th in the league in runs scored, averaging just 3.9 runs per game. They are also near the bottom of the league in home runs and team slugging percentage. Overall, they are batting .231, which is 19th in the MLB.

Cleveland comes into today’s game vs. the Rays with an overall record of 84-63, which has them leading the AL Central by four games over the Royals. The Guardians will take on the Rays at home with an overall division record of 27-21. So far, they have been good at home, going 43-26, and they are 41-37 on the road.

The Guardians have been really good as the favorite this year, putting up a mark of 59-31. As the underdog, they are 25-32. Cleveland has been good as the home favorite, going 38-19 this year. This season, their overall series record is 27-15-5.

When playing at home, the Guardians have a run line record of 33-36, with an average run margin of 0.7 runs per game. Overall, the Guardians have a run line record of 74-73, with an average run margin of 0.5 runs per game.

Today’s over/under line of 7.5 runs for the Cleveland Guardians’ home game against the Tampa Bay Rays is lower than their season average of 8 runs per game. The Guardians have played 103 games with higher over/under lines than 7.5 runs, which accounts for 70.1% of their games this season.

Cleveland is sending Tanner Bibee to the mound today vs. the Rays, and he will be looking to bounce back from a rough outing vs. the Dodgers. In that start, he took the loss, going five innings and giving up two earned runs. Looking back further, Bibee has made nine quality starts this year and has a record of 11-7 with a 3.56 ERA. Per nine innings, he is averaging 9.7 strikeouts and just 2.4 walks. For the season, Bibee has allowed 20 homers. So far, he has been much better on the road, with an ERA of 2.84 compared to 4.96 at home.

Jose Ramirez has been one of the league’s top power hitters this season, as his 34 home runs are 8th in the MLB and the best mark on the Cleveland Guardians. Ramirez also comes into the game on a five-game hitting streak. Overall, he is batting .270 this season, and his 106 RBIs are 2nd in the league. Josh Naylor is also near the top of the league in RBIs, as his 101 is 5th in the MLB. Naylor has 29 homers this season, which is 2nd on the team and 12th in the league.

As a team, the Guardians are averaging 4.5 runs per game and are 12th in the league in home runs. However, they are batting just .238 for the season and have the league’s worst BABIP. Over his last five games, Lane Thomas is batting .381 with nine RBIs.

We see the Guardians picking up a 5-4 win over the Rays, and with the money line payout for a Guardians win being -176, we would actually recommend taking the over, as we see there being a total of nine runs scored.

Looking at the starting pitchers, Zack Littell is projected to finish with just four strikeouts, and with Tanner Bibee at six, there are a few pitchers we would target ahead of either of these starters.

Offensively, we have the Guardians finishing with 10 hits compared to the Rays with eight. However, we have the Rays finishing with just nine strikeouts compared to the Guardians with eight.

For a Guardians vs. Rays parlay, you could take the Guardians on the money line and pair that with the over.

Cleveland Guardians vs Tampa Bay Rays Betting Tips

• Take the Guardians on the moneyline
• On the run line we like the Rays (+1.5)
• Projecting a combined 9 runs, we like the over

Cleveland Guardians Injury Report

Tampa Bay Rays Injury Report