Cincinnati Reds vs Tampa Bay Rays Betting Pick & Prediction 7/26/24

Friday’s interleague matchup between the Reds and Rays is set to get started at 6:50 PM ET from Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, FL. The Reds are 49-53 and have won two straight, and they are starting Nick Lodolo. Shane Baz is starting for the Rays, and they are slight money line favorites (-114).

The over/under line for Friday’s game is currently at 7.5 runs, and BSOH is carrying the TV coverage for this one. Cincinnati is -105 on the money line compared to the Rays at -114.

CINCINNATI REDS VS TAMPA BAY RAYS BETTING PICK

The Pick: Cincinnati Reds Moneyline -105

This game will be played at Tropicana Field at 6:50 ET on Friday, July 26th.

HOW TO BET THE REDS VS RAYS:

• We have the Reds 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

Reds Records & Stats

The Reds’s offense was hot right out of the gates in their most recent game vs. the Braves, closing out their series with a 9-4 win. After allowing one run to the Braves in the bottom of the first, the Reds responded with four runs of their own. Cincinnati went on to add another three runs in the 3rd inning.

Starting for the Reds was Frankie Montas, who picked up the win. He only lasted 4 1/3 innings, giving up four earned runs on 10 hits. Jake Fraley had a big game at the plate, going 3/5 with a homer and two RBIs.

Cincinnati is 49-53 overall and trails the Brewers by 10 games in the NL Central. The Reds are 4th in the division and have gone 12-14 in divisional matchups. They are on a two-game winning streak, and their two most recent wins came in the final two games of their series vs. the Braves.

At home, the Reds are 25-28 this year, and they are just above .500 at 24-25 on the road. As the road favorite, the Reds have gone 7-3 this year, and they are 25-22 when favored overall. As for their overall series record, the Reds are 12-18-3 this year.

The Reds have been a solid team to bet on the run line this season, going 55-47 overall. Their road run line record is even better at 32-17, and they’ve covered the run line in two straight games. They’ve been a better bet on the run line as the underdog this season, going 34-21, compared to 21-26 as the favorite.

The Cincinnati Reds are on the road today against the Tampa Bay Rays. The over/under line for the game is set at 7.5 runs, which is lower than their average over/under line of 9 runs. The Reds have played 83 games this season with over/under lines higher than 7.5 runs, and their over/under record for the season is 46-52. Their games have had an average combined run total of 8.6 runs per game.

Cincinnati is sending left-hander Nick Lodolo to the mound today vs. the Rays. He has made 15 starts this season and has a record of 8-3 with an ERA of 3.51. Lodolo most recently faced the Nationals on July 20th, where he finished with a no-decision. In that outing, he gave up four earned runs in 6 1/3 innings of work. Lodolo has not taken a loss since June 23rd. One issue for him has been the long ball, as he has given up 10 homers this season. Looking at his numbers, Lodolo has a WHIP of 1.12 and opponents are batting .213 off him this season.

Elly De La Cruz has been on a tear for the Reds, hitting .357 over his last seven games with three homers. For the season, he is batting .262 with 18 homers and 45 RBIs. Cruz is currently on an 11-game hitting streak. Spencer Steer and Jeimer Candelario are also near the top of the Reds’ home run leaderboard, with Steer having 15 homers and Candelario at 16.

As a team, the Reds are averaging 4.5 runs per game, which is 14th in the league. Their team batting average is just 20th in the league at .231. So far, they have been a better home run hitting team than average, but they are just 15th in slugging percentage.

Rays Records & Stats

Heading into their last game vs. the Blue Jays, the Rays closed out the series with a 13-0 win. Leading up to the game, they were the slight favorite at -106 on the money line. It was a big first inning for the Rays, as they scored their first run of the game and added another three runs in the 3rd.

Taj Bradley put together a good start for the Rays, going six innings and not giving up a run. He also issued just one walk and struck out seven Blue Jays batters. Brandon Lowe was hot at the plate, going 4/4 with a homer and three RBIs.

Tampa Bay is 52-51 overall and trail the Orioles by 9.5 games in the AL East. So far, they have gone just 16-21 in divisional games. The Rays are at home today, where they are 27-27 this year. They have been slightly better on the road, going 25-24.

The Rays have won two straight games as the underdog, and they are 24-25 as the underdog overall. As the favorite, Tampa Bay is 28-26 this year. They have an overall series record of 18-12-3, and they took two of three from the Blue Jays in their most recent series.

The Rays have been a good run line bet on the road this season, going 29-20. They have a run line record of 20-34 at home. Their average run margin in winning games is +2.8, while it’s -3.9 in losing games. They have covered the run line in two straight games as the underdog.

The Tampa Bay Rays are playing host to the Cincinnati Reds today, with the over/under line set at 7.5 runs. The combined run average for Rays games this season is 8.5 runs, and their over/under record is 50-48. When the over/under line is set at 7.5 runs, their record is 16-13. Overall, 67.0% of their games have had higher over/under lines than 7.5 runs, and their current over streak is at 2 games.

Shane Baz will be making his third start of the season for the Rays, and it will be his first home start. In his first two outings, he has a no-decision in each. Baz went 3 1/3 innings in his first start, giving up 4 hits and 5 walks. His last time out, he went 4 1/3 innings and struck out 5.

Over the past eight games, Randy Arozarena has gone 9/27 with three homers and six RBIs. This has pushed his season average to just .211, but he is 2nd on the team with 15 homers. Brandon Lowe has also been swinging a hot bat of late, going 7/26 with four homers in his last seven games.

Isaac Paredes has been the Rays’ top run producer this season, with 55 RBIs, and he also leads the team with 16 homers. Yandy Diaz is 2nd on the team in RBIs (46) and is batting .273 for the season. Tampa Bay is hoping that their lineup can start to hit better, as they are just 26th in runs scored and are batting a combined .235.