Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports/Sipa USA

Tampa Bay Rays vs Cleveland Guardians: Can the Guardians bounce back?

The Tampa Bay Rays are visiting the Cleveland Guardians tonight at Progressive Field.

The Rays have split the last ten games

The Tampa Bay Rays are fourth in the AL East with a 72-75 record and 35-37 on the road. After losing three consecutive games, the Rays won the series opener in Cleveland. Tampa Bay has a 3.90 ERA, a .236 batting average, a .302 on-base percentage, and 1.23 walks plus hits per inning pitched. Yandy Diaz leads the team with 150, Jose Caballero is on top with 53 runs, while Brandon Lowe leads with 18 home runs.

The Guardians are the best home team in the AL

The Cleveland Guardians are on top of the AL Central with a 84-63 record, including 43-26 at home. After sweeping the Chicago White Sox in a three-game series, Cleveland lost the series opener to the Rays. The Guardians have a 3.77 ERA, a .230 batting average, a .301 on-base percentage, and 1.21 walks plus hits per inning pitched. Jose Ramirez is the best player on the team with 153 hits, 104 runs and 34 home runs.

Betting Trends

The Guardians are 6-2 SU in their last 8 games against teams from the AL and 1-5 SU in their last 6 games against teams from the AL East. Cleveland has played under the total run line in 4 of their last 5 games overall, their last 5 games against the Rays, 6 of their last 9 home games and 7 of their last 8 home games against Tampa Bay. The Rays are 4-1 SU in their last 5 games against Cleveland, 5-2 SU in their last 7 games against teams from the AL and 9-4 SU in their last 13 games against teams from the AL Central. Tampa Bay has played under in 4 of their last 5 games overall, and 8 of their last 11 games on the road.

Prediction and Conclusion

The Cleveland Guardians have a promising season, having the best home and the third overall record in the AL. However, they lost the series opener 5-2 to the Rays. The Guardians still haven’t’ locked the top spot in the AL Central standings and will need to bounce back in the series. They will start Tanner Bibee tonight, who is 11-7 for the season with a 3.56 ERA, 166 K, 154 IP, and 1.13 WHIP. The Rays will go with Zack Littell, who is 6-9 for the season with a 3.89 ERA, 122 K, 138.2 IP, and 1.33 WHIP. Both pitchers have seen a lot of action this season, and with the total run line set at 7.5, we go with the under just like the last five games between these two teams ended.