In this article we will formulate a Tampa Bay Rays vs Miami Marlins prediction for this MLB game on Wednesday, July 31st at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. Let’s take a look at the prediction for game two in the series.
Rays Continue to Win
The Tampa Bay Rays are 55-52 this season and they have won three games in a row. Tampa Bay won the first game in this series by a score of 9-3 on Tuesday. Prior to this series, the Rays won two out of three against the Reds, won two out of three against the Blue Jays, and split four games with the Yankees. Tampa Bay is 7-3 in their last 10 games and they are fourth in the AL East, just 1.5 games behind Boston in third.
The Tampa Bay pitching staff has a 4.06 ERA, a 1.24 WHIP, and a .242 opponent batting average. The Rays offense has scored 430 runs with a .234 batting average and a .312 on base percentage. Yandy Diaz is batting .271 with nine home runs and 49 RBI’s for the Rays this season. Tampa Bay has allowed three runs or fewer in five straight games.
Marlins Try to Avoid Mini Sweep
The Miami Marlins are 39-68 this year and they have lost three of their last five games. Miami dropped the first game in this series and they allowed nine runs in the game. Prior to that series, the Marlins won two out of three against the Brewers, won two out of three against the Orioles, and split four games with the Mets. Miami is 7-5 in their last 12 games and they are last in the NL East.
The Miami pitching staff has a 4.53 ERA, a 1.37 WHIP, and a .254 opponent batting average. The Marlins offense has scored 386 runs with a .237 batting average and a .291 on base percentage. Jake Burger is batting .235 with 14 home runs and 40 RBI’s for the Marlins this season. Miami has allowed at least six runs in three of their last five games.
Starting Pitchers
The projected starting pitcher for Tampa Bay is Taj Bradley, who is 6-4 with a 2.43 ERA and a 1.01 WHIP over 81.1 innings pitched this year. Bradley has allowed a total of one earned run in his last five starts. The projected starting pitcher for Miami is Roddery Munoz, who is 1-5 with a 5.61 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP over 61.0 innings pitched this year. Munoz has allowed at least four earned runs in two of his last three starts.
Why the Rays will beat the Marlins
- The Rays have won 13 of their last 14 games against the Marlins.
- The Marlins have lost eight of their last nine games at Tropicana Field.
- The Rays have covered the run line in each of their last five games against the Marlins.
- The Marlins have failed to cover the run line in four of their last five road games against American League opponents.
- The Marlins have trailed after 5 innings in each of their last four day games against American League opponents.
- The Marlins have trailed after 3 innings in each of their last three day games against AL East opponents.
Total Runs Facts
- Each of the Marlins’ last nine games against AL East opponents have gone OVER the total runs line.
- Each of the Rays’ last six home games after playing the previous day have gone UNDER the total runs line.
- The ‘Inning 1 UNDER 0.5 runs’ market has hit in each of the Rays’ last five day games at Tropicana Field.
- The ‘Inning 1 OVER 0.5 runs’ market has hit in each of the Marlins’ last four road games against American League opponents.
Tampa Bay Rays Player Prop Facts
- Brandon Lowe has scored at least one run in six of his last seven appearances against NL East opponents.
- Josh Lowe has recorded a Double in four of his last five appearances against NL East opponents that held a losing record.
- Josh Lowe has recorded at least one hit in each of his six previous appearances against the Marlins.
- Yandy Diaz has recorded at least one Single in eight of his last nine Wednesday day appearances.
- Yandy Diaz has recorded two or more total bases in seven of his last eight appearances against the Marlins.
- Jose Siri has hit a home run in three of his last six appearances in day games.
- Josh Lowe has recorded an RBI in each of his last four appearances against the Marlins.
Miami Marlins Player Prop Facts
- Bryan De La Cruz has recorded at least one Single in each of his last seven road appearances against opponents that held a winning record.
- Bryan De La Cruz has recorded at least one RBI in each of his last five appearances against opponents that held a winning record.
- Josh Bell has recorded at least one total base in each of his last seven appearances against opponents that held a winning record.
- Josh Bell has hit a home run in four of his last five appearances.
- Josh Bell has recorded at least one hit in each of his last seven appearances against opponents that held a winning record.
- Josh Bell has scored a run in each of his last four appearances against AL East opponents that held a winning record.
- Jesus Sanchez has recorded a Double in three of his last four appearances against the Rays after playing the previous day.
Matchup/League Facts
- The Tampa Bay Rays rank 28th in the league for RBI’s this season (401).
- The Tampa Bay Rays rank 27th in the league for runs scored this season (430).
- The Miami Marlins rank 30th in the league for walks this season (244).
- The Miami Marlins rank 29th in the league for runs scored this season (386).
Tampa Bay Rays vs Miami Marlins Prediction
Tampa Bay rolls into this game looking to complete the mini sweep and they are playing some very good baseball right now. The Rays are 30-28 at home, while the Marlins are 17-34 on the road. Miami is towards the bottom of the MLB in runs scored and team ERA this year and they are going with Munoz, who has some awful numbers this year. Tampa Bay is starting Taj Bradley, who has been the best pitcher in baseball over his last five outings. Bradley has been dominant over the last few weeks and he should continue that against one of the weakest offenses in the league. My Tampa Bay Rays vs Miami Marlins prediction is for the Rays to win by at least two runs.