The Houston Astros and Tampa Bay Rays face off on Monday in an MLB showdown at Tropicana Field.
The Rays come into this game with an 82-64 record overall and they are coming off another win on Sunday. The pitching only gave up three runs and that was enough to win by three runs. The Rays offense has been inconsistent this season but the pitching has been strong overall. The Rays are giving up 3.74 runs per game which is 6th in the league. The top offensive player has been Randy Arozarena and he has hit 19 home runs and driven in 79 RBIs.
On the other side of this matchup is the Astros and they sit with a 96-51 record overall. On Sunday the Astros faced off against the Oakland Athletics and they were able to secure the 11-2 victory. The Astros offense has been good, but even better has been the pitcher. The Astros pitching is giving up 3.22 runs per game which is the second best in the league. Yordan Alvarez has hit 37 home runs and driven in 93 RBIs.
The Astros are 4-0 in their last four road games. The under is 5-0 in the Rays last five games on Monday. The under is 4-0 in the Rays last four during Game 1 of a series. The under is 7-0 in Rasmussens last 7 starts when their opponent allows 2 runs or less in their previous game.
On the mound for the Astros is Luis Garcia who sits with a 12-8 record and an ERA of 4.04. In his last start against the Los Angeles Angels, he went five innings giving up eight hits and three runs.
On the mound for the Rays will be Drew Rasmussen who sits with a 10-5 record and an ERA of 2.77. In his last start against the Toronto Blue Jays, he went four innings giving up six hits and four runs.
The better pitcher in this game has actually been Rasmussen and he’s going to lockdown in this game. He sits with an ERA of 2.77, and I expect he is going to have no issue slowing down the Astros game. Back the Rays to on the money line to get the job done.
AUTHOR: Shane Mickle
Mitch's Take...
