The Tampa Bay Rays seek to extend their season-opening home winning streak to 14 when they begin a three-game series with the Houston Astros at the Trop Monday night. Rookie righty Taj Bradley gets the call for Tampa here against Jose Urquidy for Houston.
Who do we like for our free baseball betting pick?
MLB Betting Odds
Monday’s baseball betting market opened Tampa Bay and Bradley at around -125 over Houston and Urquidy, with an over/under of eight runs. Early betting action then steamed the Rays 25 cents to -150 and the total line to 8.5 -113.
Astros-Rays Betting Preview
Houston just swept three games in Atlanta over the weekend, rallying late to win Sunday’s series finale 5-2. Just before that, the Astros took two of three games from Toronto, and going back a bit further, Houston is 3-1 over its last four series and 9-4 over its last 13 games. Tampa Bay, meanwhile, just swept three games at home from the White Sox, winning Sunday’s series finale 4-1. Just before that, the Rays took the last two games of a series with Cincinnati. So Tampa rides a five-game winning streak into Monday night. Last year the Astros took the season series from the Rays five games to one.
Monday’s Pitching Match-Up
Bradley, pitching on a short leash, is 0/2 on quality starts this season. First, in his ML debut 12 days ago, he allowed three runs on five hits through five innings, with one walk against eight strikeouts, in a 9-7 Tampa Bay victory over Boston. Then last Tuesday, he held the Reds scoreless on three hits through 5 1/3 innings, with one walk against nine whiffs, in a 10-0 Rays win. Bradley earned his shot with the Big Club by going 23-16 with a 2.66 ERA over parts of five Minor League seasons. Urquidy is 1/4 on quality starts this year. Last Tuesday against the Blue Jays, he allowed four runs and two home runs through 4 1/3 innings of a 4-2 Houston loss. But over his two starts previous to that, he held the Pirates and Minnesota to one run through 11 1/3 innings. The Astros are 2-2 with Urquidy this season after going 17-12 with him last year. Over three career starts against Tampa Bay, one in 2020 and two in 2021, Urquidy allowed three earned runs through 17 innings. Houston won two of those three games.
Splits With the Sticks
Houston is batting .254 against right-handed pitching this season, with a .330 team OBP and a .369 team slugging percentage.
Tampa is slashing .275/.356/.528 against right-handed pitching. The Rays also lead the Majors with 48 home runs already this season.
The Bullpens
The Tampa Bay bullpen owns a 2.91 ERA this season, along with a 1.08 WHIP and a 1.90 K/BB ratio. The Astros pen owns a 3.13 ERA, a 1.14 WHIP, and a 3.26 K/BB ratio.
MLB Betting Trends
Houston is 6-3 on the road this season and 9-7 against right-handed starters. The Rays are 13-0 at home and 13-2 against right-handed starters.
Totals Report
The overs are 14-7 in Astros games this season.
The overs are 12-7 in Rays games.
The overs are 8-4 at Tropicana Field this season.
