In this article we will formulate a Houston Astros vs Tampa Bay Rays prediction for this MLB game on Saturday, August 3rd at Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas. Let’s take a look at the prediction for game two in the series.
Astros Look for Third Straight Win
The Houston Astros are 57-52 this season and they have won two games in a row. Houston won game one in this series by a score of 3-2 on Friday night. Prior to this series, the Astros lost two out of three against the Pirates, won two out of three against the Dodgers, and lost two out of three against the Athletics. Houston is 5-3 in their last eight games and they are tied with Seattle in the AL West.
The Houston pitching staff has a 4.00 ERA, a 1.29 WHIP, and a .236 opponent batting average. The Astros offense has scored 505 runs with a .261 batting average and a .320 on base percentage. Yordan Alvarez is batting .296 with 20 home runs and 55 RBI’s for the Astros this season. Houston has scored three runs or fewer in four of their last five games.
Rays Hope to Continue Strong Pitching
The Tampa Bay Rays are 55-54 this year and they have won three of their last five games. Tampa Bay lost the first game in this series and only scored two runs in the game. Prior to this series, the Rays split two games with the Marlins, won two out of three against the Reds, and won two out of three against the Blue Jays. Tampa Bay is 7-5 in their last 12 games and they are fourth in the AL East.
The Tampa Bay pitching staff has a 4.06 ERA, a 1.23 WHIP, and a .242 opponent batting average. The Rays offense has scored 434 runs with a .234 batting average and a .312 on base percentage. Yandy Diaz is batting .274 with nine home runs and 49 RBI’s for the Rays this season. Tampa Bay has allowed three runs or fewer in six of their last seven games.
Starting Pitchers
The projected starting pitcher for Houston is Ronel Blanco, who is 9-5 with a 2.95 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP over 119.0 innings pitched this year. Blanco has allowed four earned runs in each of his last two starts, but did allow two earned runs in the three starts prior to that. The projected starting pitcher for Tampa Bay is Zack Littell, who is 4-7 with a 4.18 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP over 114.0 innings pitched this season. Littell has allowed one earned run or fewer in three of his last five starts, but did allow 12 earned runs in the other two starts during that span.
Why the Astros will beat the Rays
- The Astros have won each of their last nine night games at Minute Maid Park following a win.
- The Rays have lost each of their last five games against AL West opponents.
- The Astros have covered the run line in eight of their last nine games against AL East opponents.
- The Rays have failed to cover the run line in 11 of their last 14 games against AL West opponents.
- The Rays have trailed after 3 innings in each of their last six Saturday games against AL West opponents that held a winning record.
- The Rays have trailed after 5 innings in each of their last six Saturday games against AL West opponents that held a winning record.
Why the Rays will beat the Astros
- The Rays have won each of their last four games as underdogs against American League opponents following a road loss.
- The Astros have lost each of their last five Saturday night games as home favorites against American League opponents.
- The Rays have covered the run line in each of their last nine night games following a loss.
- The Astros have failed to cover the run line each of their last six games against teams that held a winning record.
- The Astros have lost the first inning in each of their last three night games against AL East opponents.
- The Astros have trailed after 5 innings in four of their last five games as favorites.
- The Rays have led after 3 innings in each of their last three games as underdogs against American League opponents.
Total Runs Facts
- Six of the Rays’ last seven road games after playing the previous day have gone OVER the total runs line.
- Four of the Astros’ last five night games after playing the previous day have gone OVER the total runs line.
- The ‘Inning 1 OVER 0.5 runs’ market has hit in each of the Astros’ last seven night games against AL East opponents.
- The ‘Inning 1 OVER 0.5 runs’ market has hit in each of the Rays’ last four night games.
Houston Astros Player Prop Facts
- Jose Altuve has hit a home run in three of the Astros’ last four games as home favorites against AL East opponents.
- Alex Bregman has recorded at least one Double in four of the Astros’ last five games against AL East opponents at Minute Maid Park.
- Jeremy Pena has recorded at least one RBI in five of the Astros’ last six games as favorites against AL East opponents.
- Jeremy Pena has recorded two or more total bases in each of his last nine appearances against AL East opponents.
- Yordan Alvarez has scored at least one run in eight of the Astros’ last nine games against AL East opponents.
- Jeremy Pena has recorded at least one Single in each of the Astros’ last six games against the Rays.
- Jeremy Pena has recorded at least one hit in each of the Astros’ last 12 games against the Rays.
Tampa Bay Rays Player Prop Facts
- Yandy Diaz has recorded at least one Double in four of his last five appearances against AL opponents.
- Brandon Lowe has hit a home run in four of his last six appearances at Minute Maid Park against AL West opponents that held a winning record.
- Yandy Diaz has recorded at least one RBI in six of his last eight road appearances after playing the previous day.
- Yandy Diaz has recorded two or more total bases in each of the Rays’ last four games against AL West opponents that held a winning record.
- Yandy Diaz has scored a run in four of the Rays’ last five games as road underdogs against AL West opponents.
- Yandy Diaz has recorded at least one Single in each of his last five appearances with the Rays as road underdogs.
- Yandy Diaz has recorded at least one hit in each of his last 19 appearances with the Rays as underdogs against AL opponents.
Houston Astros vs Tampa Bay Rays Prediction
Houston was able to pick up the win in game one of this series on Friday night and they are still tied with Seattle for first in the AL West. The Astros are 32-24 at home, while the Rays are 25-25 on the road. Tampa Bay is just one game above .500 on the season, but their pitching staff has been very good recently. The Rays are starting Littell, who has been very hot and cold this season. The Astros are going with Blanco, who has allowed eight earned runs in his last two starts. I don’t really trust either of these starting pitchers and while I do think Blanco is the better option, I think both teams will generate scoring chances. My Houston Astros vs Tampa Bay Rays prediction is for this game to go over the total.