Both the Astros and Rays will be looking to keep their streaks alive on Wednesday, as the Astros have won seven straight and the Rays have dropped two in a row. This AL matchup has a first pitch set for 6:50 PM ET from Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, FL.
Currently, the Astros are 64-55, and they are the 1st place team in the AL West. The Rays are 4th in the AL East with a record of 59-60. Houston is favored on the money line today, and the over/under line is at 8 runs.
Houston vs. Tampa Bay Matchup At A Glance
- Teams: Astros at Rays
- Where: Tropicana Field St. Petersburg
- Date: Wednesday, August 14th
- Betting Odds HOU -121 | TB +102 O/U 8
Astros vs Rays Last Game Recap
Houston picked up a 3-2 road win over the Rays in the most recent game of this series. The Astros had a two-run lead heading into the 8th inning, and the Rays could only muster one run in the 8th. As for the starting pitching matchup, Yusei Kikuchi went 5 2/3 innings for the Astros, giving up just one run and striking out five. He did not factor in the decision as Josh Hader got the save. Shane Baz had a good outing for the Rays, giving up three earned runs in seven innings of work.
Alex Bregman and Jeremy Pena each homered for the Astros, while Yainer Diaz scored twice and drove in a run while going 2/4. Tampa Bay got on the board with two homers, one from Austin Meadows and the other from Nelson Cruz.
It was a low-scoring game despite the fact that the Astros had nine hits and only struck out once. As for the Rays, they finished with just five hits and struck out nine times.
Astros Preview
Currently, the Astros have a 1.5-game lead over the Mariners in the AL West, and they are on a seven-game winning streak. Their overall record is 64-55, and they have gone 7-3 in their last ten games. In series play, they have a 21-16-1 record.
When playing on the road, the Astros have a 34-27 run line record, and their average run margin in winning games is 3.8. This season, their games have averaged 8.7 runs, and their over/under record is 47-68. Heading into today's game, the under has hit in their last two games, and 63.0% of their games have had higher totals than the current line of 8 runs.
Houston is sending Ronel Blanco to the mound today vs. the Rays, and he comes in with a record of 9-6 and an ERA of 3.02. Blanco's WHIP for the season is 1.05. In his 22 starts, Blanco has one complete game shutout and 11 quality starts. Per nine innings, he is averaging 8.86 strikeouts and 3.59 walks. Blanco most recently faced the Red Sox, where he gave up two earned runs in four innings of work. He finished with a no-decision in that outing. Before that, he had given up at least two earned runs in three straight starts.
As a team, the Astros are batting .262, which is the 2nd best mark in the league. They are also among the league leaders in home runs and have the 6th best slugging percentage in the league. Houston's offense is averaging 4.6 runs per game, which is 12th in the league. At home, they are scoring 4.8 runs per contest.
Yordan Alvarez has been one of the top power hitters in the league this season, as his 25 homers lead the Astros and is the 11th best mark in the MLB. Alvarez also has a strong batting average of .306. Alex Bregman has been on a tear of late, going 15/32 with four homers over his last seven games. This has pushed his season-long batting average to .263.
Rays Preview
Heading into today's game, the Rays are 59-60 overall and trail the Blue Jays by 3.5 games for the final Wild Card spot. They are currently in 4th place in the AL East, 11 games behind the Yankees. Tampa Bay has lost two straight games and are down 0-2 in the series against the Astros.
On the run line, the Rays have been more successful on the road with a 34-21 record, compared to 25-39 at home. Their overall run line record is 59-60, and their over/under record for the season is 54-60. The under has hit in their last three games, and their O/U record for games with an 8-run total is 13-18-1.
Right-hander Zack Littell is starting for the Rays today and comes into the game with a record of 5-8 and an ERA of 4.12. Littell has made 23 starts this season and has a WHIP of 1.35. In his 23 appearances, he has turned in eight quality starts. Littell's most recent outing came against the Orioles, where he took the loss, going five innings and giving up three earned runs. Before that, he had won two straight starts. One of those wins came against the Astros, where he allowed just one earned run in 5 2/3 innings of work.
For the season, the Rays are averaging just 3.9 runs per game, which is 28th in the league. They have been even worse at home, averaging just 3.6 runs per game. As a team, they are batting just .232 and have the 22nd home run total in the league.
Yandy Diaz has been the Rays' most consistent hitter this season, batting .270 with 10 homers and 51 RBIs. Christopher Morel leads the team with 20 home runs but is batting just .190. Brandon Lowe is also near the top of the team's home run leaderboard, with 14 homers, and has a batting average of .253. Over his last nine games, Brandon Lowe has gone 9/38 with two homers and nine RBIs. Josh Lowe is also on a three-game hitting streak and has gone 9/27 in his last nine games.
Astros vs. Rays Prediction: Astros ML -121
Getting the Astros on the money line at -121 is the way we recommend playing this one. We have the Astros winning this one by a score of 5-4. If you're looking for a parlay, you could also look to pair the Astros with an NBA or NHL game.
Looking at the starting pitcher's strikeout numbers, Ronel Blanco is projected to finish with six strikeouts, while Zack Littell is projected to finish with four. Blanco is also projected to go longer into the game, and we have him finishing with a better chance of picking up the win.
