Houston Astros vs Tampa Bay Rays Betting Pick & Prediction 8/12/24

Monday’s Astros vs. Rays game has a first pitch set for 6:50 PM ET from Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, FL. BSSUN will be televising this AL matchup, and the Astros are the slight money line favorite, with their odds sitting at -122 compared to the Rays at +103. The over/under line is currently 7.5 runs.

Houston comes in with a record of 62-55 and has won five straight, putting them 1st in the AL West. The Rays are 4th in the AL East with an overall record of 59-58. Framber Valdez will start for the Astros, while the Rays are sending Taj Bradley to the mound.

HOUSTON ASTROS VS TAMPA BAY RAYS BETTING PICK

The Pick: Houston Astros Moneyline -122

This game will be played at Tropicana Field at 6:50 ET on Monday, August 12th.

HOW TO BET THE ASTROS VS RAYS:

• We have the Astros winning by a score of 5 to 4
• However, if you’re looking for a run line pick, we like the Rays to cover
• As for an over/under pick, we have this game finishing with 9 runs and like the over

Astros Records & Stats

Heading into their last game vs. the Red Sox, the Astros closed out the series with a 10-2 win. Leading up to the game, they were the heavy favorite at -145. It was a five-run 3rd inning that really turned things in their favor, and the Red Sox could only score two runs, both of which came in the 4th.

Hunter Brown put together a good start for the Astros, going 5 1/3 innings and giving up just two runs on five hits. He also issued only two walks and struck out nine Red Sox batters. Offensively, the Astros scored their 10 runs on 13 hits and only three home runs.

The Astros are on a five-game winning streak, and they will be on the road today vs. the Rays. Currently, the Astros are tied with the Mariners for the AL West lead at 62-55. This season, they have gone 21-18 in divisional games.

Houston has an overall series record of 21-16-1 this season, and they have won two straight series. As the road favorite, the Astros are 17-18 this season, and they have won five straight road games overall. Their overall record as the favorite is 46-39 compared to 16-16 as the underdog.

When the Astros are on the road, they have a run line record of 33-26 and are currently on a seven-game run line win streak. They have an average run margin of 0.1 runs per game on the road, and their overall run line record is 60-57. When they are the favorite, they have a run line record of 39-46, and when they are the underdog, they have a run line record of 21-11.

The Houston Astros are on the road against the Tampa Bay Rays today. The over/under line for the game is set at 7.5 runs, which is lower than their combined run average of 8.8 runs per game. The Astros have played 95 games this season with over/under lines set higher than 7.5 runs, which accounts for 81.2% of their games. Their over/under record for the season is 47-66.

Framber Valdez will be looking to build off his last outing, where he came one out shy of a complete game. Against the Rangers on August 6th, he got the win, going 8 2/3 innings and giving up just two earned runs. Looking at his overall numbers, Valdez has made 20 starts and has a record of 11-5. His ERA for the season is 3.46, along with a WHIP of 1.19. Valdez has made 12 quality starts this year and is averaging 8.14 strikeouts per nine innings. For the season, he has allowed 11 homers and is averaging 2.95 walks per nine innings.

Yordan Alvarez has been on a tear of late, going 13/28 in his last eight games with five homers and eight RBIs. For the season, he is batting .307 with a league-leading 63 RBIs. Alvarez’s 25 homers is also the best mark on the team. Kyle Tucker is also a big threat in the lineup, as he is 13th in the league with 19 homers.

As a team, the Astros are 2nd in the league in batting average at .262, and they are also among the league leaders in slugging percentage and on-base percentage. Overall, they are averaging 4.6 runs per game, which is 12th in the league. This season, they have been a good home run hitting team and have been very good at avoiding strikeouts.

Rays Records & Stats

The Rays’s offense was carried by Jeffrey Springs in their most recent game vs. the Orioles. Springs went five innings, giving up just one run while striking out eight. However, the Rays could only score two runs and were the -118 favorite at home going into the game.

Manuel Rodriguez picked up the win out of the bullpen, and Pete Fairbanks got the save. The Rays also got a good start from Jeffrey Springs, who went five innings, giving up just one run and striking out eight. However, they could only score two runs and needed a late rally to pick up the win. The Rays were also the -118 favorite at home going into the game.

Tampa Bay is 59-58 overall and 10 games behind the Orioles in the AL East. The Rays are 4th in the division and trail the Red Sox by 2.5 games for the final Wild Card spot. So far, they are 17-23 against other teams in the AL East.

At home, the Rays are 31-31 this year and 28-27 on the road. As the underdog, Tampa Bay is 28-31 this year, and they are 9-13 as the home underdog. The Rays dropped two straight as the underdog, and they are 4-6 in their last 10 games overall.

The Rays have a run line record of 58-59 this season, with a run line record of 24-38 at home. Their average run margin is -0.4 runs per game, and they have a run line record of 34-21 on the road. They have lost two straight games against the run line as the favorite, and their average run margin in losing games is -3.7 runs per game.

The Tampa Bay Rays are playing at home today against the Houston Astros. The over/under line for the game is set at 7.5 runs, which is lower than their season average of 8 runs per game. The Rays have played 36 games with an over/under line of 7.5 runs this season, and their record in those games is 18-18. Overall, their over/under record for the season is 54-58.

Taj Bradley gets the start for the Rays today and will be looking to bounce back from a rough outing vs. the Cardinals. In that start, he went 4 2/3 innings, giving up five runs (all earned), and took the loss. Looking back further, Bradley has lost three straight starts. His record for the season is 6-6, and his ERA is 3.07. Out of his 16 starts, Bradley has turned in seven quality starts and is averaging 10.48 strikeouts per nine innings. For the year, he has allowed 12 homers and is averaging 3.07 walks per nine innings.

For the season, the Rays are averaging just 3.9 runs per game, which is 28th in the majors. They have been even worse at home, averaging just 3.6 runs per game. As a team, they are batting just .234, and their team slugging percentage of .374 is also among the worst in the league.

Christopher Morel is the team’s leader in home runs, but he is batting just .193 for the season. Yandy Diaz has been a bright spot for the team, as he is batting .271 and is 2nd on the team with 51 RBIs. Over his last eight games, Brandon Lowe has gone 9/34 with two homers and eight RBIs.