Rays vs. Pirates odds, tips and betting trends

Sportsbook Wire

02 May 2023

Rays vs. Pirates odds, tips and betting trends

Two teams on top of their divisions — the Tampa Bay Rays (AL East) and the Pittsburgh Pirates (NL Central) — clash on Tuesday at 6:40 PM ET, at Tropicana Field.

The Pirates are road underdogs (+144) at the Rays (-169). The starting pitchers are Javy Guerra for the Tampa Bay Rays, and Roansy Contreras (3-1) for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The Rays lost 12-9 against the White Sox Tuesday, with Jalen Beeks getting credited with the loss. He threw 2/3 of an inning, giving up five earned runs on four hits. Taylor Walls went 4-for-5 with a home run and two RBI to lead the Rays offensively.

The Pirates fell to the Nationals 7-2 Tuesday. Tucupita Marcano led the way offensively after going 2-for-4 with an RBI in the defeat, while Johan Oviedo took the loss on the mound, pitching 2 1/3 innings, giving up seven earned runs on nine hits while striking out one.

Get ready for the Rays vs. Pirates with what you need to know about Tuesday’s game, including viewing options.

Tampa Bay Rays vs. Pittsburgh Pirates Odds and Betting Lines

Tipico Sportsbook. Odds updated Tuesday at 3:23 PM ET. For a full list of sports betting odds, access USA TODAY Sports Betting Scores Odds Hub.

Favorite: Rays (-169, bet $169 to win $100)
Underdog: Pirates (+144, bet $100 to win $144)
Over/under: 8.5

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Rays Stats and Trends

Rays Betting Records

This season, the Rays have been favored 28 times and won 23, or 82.1%, of those games.
Tampa Bay has entered 18 games this season favored by -169 or more and is 16-2 in those contests.
The implied probability of a win from the Rays, based on the moneyline, is 62.8%.
Tampa Bay and its opponents have hit the over in 16 of its 29 games with a total this season.
The Rays are 19-10-0 ATS in their 29 games with a spread this season.

Javy Guerra (Rays Probable Starter)

Guerra will make his first start of the season for the Rays.
The 27-year-old righty has eight appearances out of the bullpen this season.
He has a 7.56 ERA and 5.4 strikeouts per nine innings while opponents are batting .303 against him over his eight appearances this season.
The Pirates have MLB’s fourth-ranked scoring offense (156 total runs) and have racked up a .264 batting average as a team while hitting 34 home runs (12th in the league) this season.

Rays Batting Stats

No team in MLB has hit more homers than the Rays, who have connected on 61 this season.
Fueled by 120 extra-base hits, Tampa Bay leads MLB with a .527 slugging percentage this season.
The Rays rank first in the majors with a .281 team batting average.
Tampa Bay leads MLB with 195 runs scored this season.
No team gets on base better than the Rays, who has a league-best .351 OBP this season.
Tampa Bay ranks 14th with an average of 8.6 strikeouts per game.

Pirates Stats and Trends

Pirates Betting Records

The Pirates have won in 13, or 61.9%, of the 21 contests they have been named as odds-on underdogs this year.
This season, Pittsburgh has been victorious two times in three chances when named as an underdog of at least +144 or longer on the moneyline.
The moneyline set for this matchup implies the Pirates have a 41% chance of coming away with a victory in the contest.
Pittsburgh and its opponents have hit the over in 14 of its 29 games with a total set by oddsmakers this season.
The Pirates are 19-10-0 against the spread in their 29 games that had a posted line this season.

Roansy Contreras (Pirates Probable Starter)

Contreras (3-1 with a 3.58 ERA and 24 strikeouts in 27 2/3 innings pitched) makes the start for the Pirates, his sixth of the season.
The righty’s last appearance came on Wednesday against the Los Angeles Dodgers, when he went six scoreless innings while giving up two hits.
The 23-year-old has put up an ERA of 3.58, with 7.8 strikeouts per nine innings in five games this season. Opponents are hitting .248 against him.
Contreras is trying to continue a third-game quality start streak in this outing.
Contreras is looking for his fourth straight outing lasting five or more innings. He averages 5.4 frames per start.
He will face a Rays offense that ranks first in the league with 195 total runs scored while batting .281 as a squad. His opponent has a collective .527 slugging percentage (first in MLB action) and has hit a total of 61 home runs (first in the league).

Pirates Batting Stats

The Pirates average 1.2 home runs per game to rank 12th in MLB action with 34 total home runs .
So far this season, Pittsburgh’s .449 slugging percentage is third-best in baseball.
The Pirates are fifth in MLB with a .264 batting average.
The offense for Pittsburgh is No. 4 in the majors, scoring 5.4 runs per game (156 total runs).
The Pirates are third in baseball with an on-base percentage of .343.

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