Rays vs. Astros odds, tips and betting trends

Sportsbook Wire

27 July 2023

Rays vs. Astros odds, tips and betting trends

The Tampa Bay Rays (62-43) will visit the Houston Astros (58-45), Friday at 8:10 PM ET, in the first of a three-game series.

The Rays are favored (-115) in an expected tight game against the Astros (-105). The matchup on the mound for this contest is set with the Tampa Bay Rays looking to Shane McClanahan (11-1), and Cristian Javier (7-2) answering the bell for the Houston Astros.

The Rays lost 7-1 to the Marlins Friday, with Zach Eflin (four innings, giving up five earned runs on seven hits while striking out three) on the hook for the loss. Josh Lowe went 1-for-3 with a double to lead the Rays offensively in the defeat.

Friday, the Astros lost to the Rangers 13-5. Framber Valdez was the losing pitcher after he went 3 2/3 innings, giving up six earned runs on eight hits while striking out one. Alex Bregman led the Astros’ offense, going 2-for-3 with a home run and three RBI.

Before watching this Rays vs. Astros matchup, here’s everything you need to know about Friday’s action on the diamond, including viewing options.

Tampa Bay Rays vs. Houston Astros Odds and Betting Lines

Tipico Sportsbook. Odds updated Thursday at 9:17 AM ET. For a full list of sports betting odds, access USA TODAY Sports Betting Scores Odds Hub.

Favorite: Rays (-115, bet $115 to win $100)
Underdog: Astros (-105, bet $105 to win $100)
Over/under: 8.5

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Rays Stats and Trends

Rays Betting Records

This season, the Rays have been favored 87 times and won 56, or 64.4%, of those games.
This season Tampa Bay has won 56 of its 84 games, or 66.7%, when favored by at least -115 on the moneyline.
The oddsmakers’ moneyline implies a 53.5% chance of a victory for the Rays.
Games involving Tampa Bay has gone over the total set by bookmakers in 54 of 105 chances this season.
The Rays are 55-50-0 against the spread this season.

Shane McClanahan (Rays Probable Starter)

McClanahan gets the start for the Rays, his 20th of the season. He is 11-1 with a 2.89 ERA and 112 strikeouts in 106 2/3 innings pitched.
The left-hander’s most recent time out was on Saturday against the Baltimore Orioles, when he went four innings, surrendering five earned runs while giving up five hits.
The 26-year-old has an ERA of 2.89, with 9.5 strikeouts per nine innings, in 19 games this season. Opponents are batting .211 against him.
McClanahan heads into this matchup with 12 quality starts under his belt this year.
McClanahan has pitched five or more innings in a game 15 times this year entering this outing.
He has had three appearances this season in which he kept his opponents to zero earned runs.
He will take the hill against an Astros squad that is batting .248 as a unit (17th in MLB). It is also slugging a collective .412 (13th in MLB) with 129 total home runs (10th in MLB).
Among qualifying pitchers in MLB action this season, the 26-year-old ranks fourth in ERA (2.89), 24th in WHIP (1.160), and 18th in K/9 (9.5).

Rays Batting Stats

The Rays rank fourth in Major League Baseball with 150 home runs.
Hitters for Tampa Bay rank fifth in the majors with a combined .444 team slugging percentage.
The Rays have a team batting average of .255 this season, which ranks 10th among MLB teams.
Tampa Bay has scored 545 runs this season, which ranks fourth in MLB.
The Rays have an OBP of .327 this season, which ranks 10th in MLB.
Tampa Bay ranks 17th in strikeouts per game (8.6) among MLB offenses.

Astros Stats and Trends

Astros Betting Records

The Astros have been chosen as underdogs in 31 games this year and have walked away with the win 18 times (58.1%) in those games.
Houston has a win-loss record of 15-12 when favored by -105 or worse by oddsmakers this year.
The Astros have an implied victory probability of 51.2% according to the moneyline set for this matchup.
Houston and its opponents have gone over the total this season in 50 of its 103 opportunities.
The Astros have an against the spread mark of 52-51-0 in 103 games with a line this season.

Cristian Javier (Astros Probable Starter)

The Astros will send Javier (7-2) out to make his 20th start of the season. He is 7-2 with a 4.32 ERA and 94 strikeouts through 102 2/3 innings pitched.
His last time out was on Sunday against the Oakland Athletics, when the righty tossed 5 2/3 innings, surrendering two earned runs while giving up just one hit.
The 26-year-old has a 4.32 ERA and 8.3 strikeouts per nine innings in 19 games this season, while allowing a batting average of .238 to opposing batters.
Javier has eight quality starts under his belt this season.
Javier will aim to last five or more innings for his third straight appearance. He’s averaging 5.4 frames per outing.
In one of his appearances this season he has not allow an earned run.
He will face off against a Rays offense that ranks ninth in the league with 897 total hits (on a .255 batting average). The squad also slugs a collective .444 (fifth in the league) with 150 total home runs (fourth in MLB action).

Astros Batting Stats

The Astros rank 10th in baseball with 129 home runs. They average 1.3 per game.
So far this year, Houston is 13th in baseball with a .412 slugging percentage.
The Astros are 17th in MLB with a .248 batting average.
The offense for Houston is the No. 12 offense in baseball, scoring 4.7 runs per game (484 total runs).
The Astros’ .318 on-base percentage ranks 16th in MLB.

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