Rays

It is the start of a weekend series as the Tampa Bay Rays take on the Detroit Tigers. It is now time to continue our MLB odds series with a Rays-Tigers prediction, pick, and how-to-watch.

The Rays come into the game after taking two of three from the Yankees this week. The Rays have won four of their last six games and five of their last ten overall. Still, The Rays are in the midst of a playoff race. They are 66-45 on the season, but that places them two games out of first place in the AL East. Once on pace for 115 wins on the season, the Rays have fallen as of late. They are now on pace for just 96 wins on the year, but they still hold the top Wild Card spot. To make matters worse, the Rays just placed their ace, Shane McClanahan on the 15-day IL.

The Tigers come into the game after splitting a two-game series with the Pirates. They have won six of their last ten games, but have fallen out of playoff contention. They are seven games out in the AL Central and decided to sell off assets at the trade deadline. Although, one of their major pieces, Eduardo Rodriguez, rejected a trade to the Dodgers, electing to stay with the Tigers as they rebuild.

Here are the Rays-Tigers MLB odds, courtesy of FanDuel.

Tampa Bay Rays: -1.5 (+114)

Detroit Tigers: +1.5 (-137)

Over: 9 (-104)

Under: 9 (-118)

TV: Apple TV+

Stream: MLB.TV

Time: 6:40 PM ET/ 3:40 PM PT

🚨 Get viral MLB graphics, memes, rumors and trending news delivered right to your inbox with the Clutch Newsletter.

*Watch MLB games LIVE with fuboTV (click for a free trial)*

The Rays come into the game with one of the top offenses in all of baseball. They are fourth in runs scored and slugging this year while sitting 11th in batting average and on-base percentage. Helping lead the way is Randy Arozarena. He is the team leader in RBIs this year with 64, and he also has 18 home runs. Still, Arozarena has struggled as of late. Since July 23rd he is just 1-27 since then, with the one hit being a home run. Since the start of July, he is hitting just .152, with three home runs and seven RBIs. The Rays will need him to turn this around. This is the longest cold streak of his career, and if he can begin to turn it around, Ray's offense should spark.

Meanwhile, Brandon Lowe, Isaac Paredes, and Wander Franco come into the game swinging the bat well. Lowe has hit .318 over the last week. He has three home runs in that time with nine RBIs while also scoring four runs. Paredes is not hitting as well, but he is slugging. Paredes is hitting just .263 over the last week, but he has three home runs and a double. Four of his last five hits have been for extra bases, and he has scored four times. He also has walked five times to give him an OBP of .440 in the last week. Wander Franco also has three home runs and four RBIs in the last week. While hitting .348 and getting on base at a .444 clip, he has scored seven times in the last week.

The Rays' pitching is one of the major reasons they have been winning this year. They are third in baseball in team ERA and WHIP, while the number one team in opponent batting average. Today they will be employing the opener strategy. Zack Littell will be taking the mound today for his fifth start of the year. He has done well in his limited starts. Last time out he gave up two runs in five innings to take the win. In starts this year he has a 3.65 ERA and a 1-1 record.

Dan Fappiano · 1 day ago

Scotty White · 1 day ago

Nick Meyer · 2 days ago

The Tigers have players just two one-run games in their last 11 games. Either they have things going on both the pitching and at the plate, or they do not. The offense has been rough this year though. The Tigers sit 28th in runs scored this year, while also sitting 28th in batting average and on-base percentage. They are also 29th in slugging. The run production as of late for the Tigers has come from Zack Short and Akil Baddoo. Short has four RBIs in the last week, while hitting .500. He has done that with three doubles. Short has also scored a run in the last week.

Baddoo has four RBIs on a home run and just two hits. He is hitting .286 in limited at-bats, while also scoring a run. Also making the most of limited at-bats has been Nick Maton. Maton has two RBIs with two doubles and a run scored in his last week. That is on just seven at-bats, which gives him a .571 batting average in the last week. Meanwhile, Matt Vierling is hitting .389 in the last week while getting on base at a .450 rate. He does not have an RBI in the last week, but he has scored three times. Scoring a ton in the last week is Javier Baez. Baez is hitting .300 in the last week while scoring seven runs.

On the hill, today for the Tiger will be Reese Olson. Olson is 1-4 on the year with a 4.71 ERA. While he started July hot, going seven innings in relief and giving up just one run, things have not gone as well in his return to being a starter. In his three starts, he has given up 11 runs in 16.1 innings of work while going 0-2. Olson has not had a start this year in which he has not given up at least one run, and has not given up fewer than two in a start since the end of June.

The Rays have not been nearly as dominant as they were to start the year, sitll they are a quality club. Things have worked out well for the Rays when they have employed the opener strategy. They score enough runs to give support to the bullpen, and against a pitcher like Olson, that should not be an issue today. Meanwhile, the Tigers are very inconsistent, and they do not have a bat in the lineup that can turn things around in a hurry. Take the Rays to cover in this one.

Final Rays-Tigers Prediction & Pick: Rays -1.5 (+114)