Cleveland Indians vs. Tampa Bay Rays Game 2 MLB Picks, Odds, Predictions 7/7/2021

The Cleveland Indians and Tampa Bay Rays meet Wednesday in game 2 of an MLB doubleheader at Tropicana Field. The Indians need a win to snap a seven-game losing streak. The Rays need a win after losing five of their last seven games.

The Cleveland Indians have scored 13 runs in their last three games and three or less runs in six of their last nine games. The Indians have lost seven straight games when scoring three or less runs. Jose Ramirez leads the Indians with 74 hits and 51 RBI while Amed Rosario and Eddie Rosario have combined for 145 hits and 70 RBI. Sam Hentges gets the ball, and he is 1-3 with a 8.22 ERA and 41 strikeouts this season. This will be Hentges’ first career game against the Rays.

The Tampa Bay Rays have scored 17 runs in their last three games and four or more runs in six of their last nine games. The Rays have won five of their last seven games when scoring four or more runs. Randy Arozarena leads the Rays with 77 hits and 40 RBI while Austin Meadows and Manuel Margot have combined for 140 hits and 100 RBI. The Tampa Bay Rays didn’t announce a starting pitcher at the time this article was published.

It’s always difficult to predict the second game of a doubleheader without knowing what happened in the first game. With that said, the Rays offense is starting to pick up again and they’ve played their best baseball at home this season. The Rays pitching staff from top to bottom is also more trustworthy, which is key in these weird doubleheaders. I’ll lean toward the home team here in game 2.