Tampa Bay Rays (56-39) vs. Cleveland Indians (47-45)
July 22, 2021 7:10 pm EDT
The Line: Cleveland Indians +120 / Tampa Bay Rays -145 ; Over/Under: 9
(Get latest betting odds)
The Tampa Bay Rays and the Cleveland Indians meet Thursday in MLB action from Progressive Field. Tampa Bay is coming off a series versus the Orioles. After splitting the first pair in that set, on Wednesday the Rays eked out a one-run win. As for the Indians, they played the Astros this week. Cleveland lost the first two in that series, then on Wednesday the Indians posted a one-run win. Check back all season long for free MLB picks at Sports Chat Place.
Tampa Bay fell 6-1 to the Orioles in the Monday opener, but bounced back for a 9-3 win on Tuesday. In the Wednesday game the Rays notched two runs in the ninth inning for an excellent 5-4 walk-off victory. Michael Wacha lasted 5.0 innings with three earned on six hits.
For the starter job in the Thursday game, the Rays will send out Luis Patino. In his six games (four starts) so far this year, Patino has a 1-2 record with 24 strikeouts and a 4.87 ERA over 20.1 innings.
Over on the Indians’ side, they had some problems with the Astros this week on losses 4-3 Monday and 9-3 Tuesday. In the Wednesday game, Cleveland put up three runs in the sixth inning on the way to a 5-4 comeback win. Eli Morgan put up 5.0 innings with three hits and three earned.
For the starter job in the Thursday matchup, the Indians will go with Cal Quantrill. This year so far Quantrill is 2-2 with a 4.05 ERA and 48 strikeouts.
The Rays are 6-1 in their last seven Thursday games and 13-4 in their last 17 versus the AL Central. Tampa Bay is 5-2 in the last seven with a total of 7.0-8.5 and the over is 6-1 in their last seven Thursday games.
Meanwhile, the Indians are 70-32 in their last 102 Thursday games and 7-15 in their last 22 versus the AL East. Cleveland is 1-4 in their last five in game one of a series and the over is 5-1 in their last six in game one of a series.
PICK: I’m going to stick with the Rays. That depends somewhat on Patino getting a good start in, though. He had a couple of rough outings versus the Jays and Orioles, posting nine earned on 13 hits in 8.2 innings. It’s been a while since we’ve seen Patino on the mound, but if he can carve out 4-5 good innings Tampa should have a solid shot in this one.
