In this article we will formulate a Tampa Bay Rays vs Cincinnati Reds prediction for this MLB game on Saturday, July 27th at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. Let’s take a look at the prediction for game two in the series.
Rays Back Down to .500
The Tampa Bay Rays are 52-52 this season and they have alternated wins and losses over their last six games. Tampa Bay lost game one in this series on Friday and they only managed two runs in the game. Prior to this series, the Rays won two out of three against the Blue Jays, split four games with the Yankees, and won two out of three against the Guardians. Tampa Bay 5-4 in their last nine games and they are fourth in the AL East.
The Tampa Bay pitching staff has a 4.15 ERA, a 1.25 WHIP, and a .243 opponent batting average. The Rays offense has scored 415 runs with a .234 batting average and a .311 on base percentage. Isaac Paredes is batting .249 with 16 home runs and 55 RBI’s for the Rays this season. Tampa Bay has scored four runs or more in four of their last seven games.
Reds are Looking for Four Straight
The Cincinnati Reds are 50-53 this year and they have won three games in a row. Cincinnati won the first game in this series by a score of 3-2 on Friday night. Prior to this series, the Reds won both games against the Braves, lost all three against the Nationals, and won two out of three against the Marlins. Cincinnati is 6-4 in their last ten games and they are fourth in the NL Central.
The Cincinnati pitching staff has a 3.83 ERA, a 1.25 WHIP, and a .237 opponent batting average. The Reds offense has scored 459 runs with a .230 batting average and a .304 on base percentage. Elly De La Cruz is batting .260 with 18 home runs and 45 RBI’s for the Reds this season. Cincinnati has scored at least four runs in four of their last six games.
Starting Pitchers
The projected starting pitcher for Tampa Bay is Zack Littell, who is 3-7 with a 4.46 ERA and a 1.40 WHIP over 107.0 innings pitched this year. Littell has allowed two earned runs or fewer in three of his last five starts. The projected starting pitcher for Cincinnati is Andrew Abbott, who is 9-6 with a 3.19 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP over 113.0 innings pitched this season. Abbott has allowed two earned runs or fewer in four of his last five outings.
Why the Reds will beat the Rays
- The Reds have won each of their last six games as road underdogs against AL East opponents.
- The Rays have lost four of their last five games as home favorites against NL Central opponents.
- The Reds have covered the run line in each of their last seven road games against American League opponents.
- The Rays have failed to cover the run line in four of their last five games as home favorites against NL Central opponents.
- The Reds have led after 5 innings in five of their last six games as underdogs against AL East opponents.
- The Reds have led after 3 innings in four of their last six games as road underdogs.
- The Reds have won the first inning in each of their last three games as underdogs.
Total Runs Facts
- Each of the Rays’ last 10 games following an extra innings loss have gone UNDER the total runs line.
- Four of the Reds’ last five day games against AL East opponents have gone OVER the total runs line.
- The ‘Inning 1 UNDER 0.5 runs’ market has hit in each of the Reds’ last four day games against American League opponents.
- The ‘Inning 1 OVER 0.5 runs’ market has hit in each of the Rays’ last three games.
Tampa Bay Rays Player Prop Facts
- Jose Siri has hit a home run in three of his last four appearances in day games.
- Yandy Diaz has recorded at least one Double in three of his last four appearances after playing the previous day.
- Yandy Diaz has recorded an RBI in four of the Rays’ last five games against NL Central opponents.
- Isaac Paredes has scored a run in four of his five previous appearances against the Reds after playing the previous day.
- Randy Arozarena has recorded at least one hit in each of his last 12 appearances with the Rays as favorites.
- Randy Arozarena has recorded a Single in each of his last seven appearances with the Rays as home favorites.
- Randy Arozarena has recorded at least one total base in each of his last 12 appearances with the Rays as favorites.
Cincinnati Reds Player Prop Facts
- Elly De La Cruz has hit a home run in three of the Reds’ last four day games.
- TJ Friedl has recorded at least one RBI in five of his last six road appearances against AL opponents.
- TJ Friedl has scored at least one run in nine of his last 11 road appearances against AL opponents.
- Elly De La Cruz has recorded two or more total bases in seven of his last eight appearances after playing the previous day.
- Elly De La Cruz has recorded at least one hit in each of his last eight appearances after playing the previous day.
- Santiago Espinal has recorded at least one Single in six of his last seven appearances.
- Santiago Espinal has recorded a Double in each of his last three appearances with his team as a road underdog against the Rays.
Tampa Bay Rays vs Cincinnati Reds Prediction
Cincinnati comes into this matchup on a three game winning streak and they are trying to get back into the NL Wild Card race. The Reds are 25-25 on the road, while the Rays are 27-28 at home this year. Tampa Bay is sitting right at the .500 mark on the season, but that is only good for fourth in the AL East. Both of these starting pitchers have been pretty sharp in recent outings, but I really like how Abbott has looked all season. My Tampa Bay Rays vs Cincinnati Reds prediction is for the Reds to get the win.