Rays vs Guardians Prediction - MLB Picks 9/1/23

Cleveland Guardians (64-70) vs Tampa Bay Rays (82-52)

Game Info: Friday, September 1, 2023 at 7:10 pm (Progressive Field)

Cal Quantrill (2-6) (6.45) vs Tyler Glasnow (7-4) (3.12)

Betting Odds: Cleveland Guardians +140 / Tampa Bay Rays -166 --- Over/Under: 7.5 Click Here for the Latest Odds

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The Tampa Bay Rays will play the Cleveland Guardians in Game 1 of their series on Friday night at Progressive Field in Cleveland, Ohio. Cleveland comes into this one five games out in the AL Central, while Tampa Bay is trailing Baltimore by 1.5 games in the AL East. 

Rays Preview

The Tampa Bay Rays are 82-52 this season and they have won eight of their last nine games. Tampa Bay is coming off of a series win against Miami, where they won both games. The Rays have allowed three runs or fewer in four of their last six games. The Tampa Bay pitching staff has a 3.83 ERA, a 1.18 WHIP, and a .231 opponent batting average this year. The Rays offense has scored 718 runs with a .260 batting average and a .332 on base percentage. Randy Arozarena is batting .261 with 21 home runs and 76 RBI’s for the Rays. The projected starting pitcher for Tampa Bay is Tyler Glasnow, who is 7-4 with a 3.12 ERA and a 1.05 WHIP over 86.2 innings pitched this season.

Guardians Preview

The Cleveland Guardians are 64-70 this season and they have won three of their last four games. Cleveland is coming off of a series win against Minnesota, where they won two out of three games. The Guardians have scored 4+ runs in four straight games. The Cleveland pitching staff has a 3.85 ERA, a 1.28 WHIP, and a .244 opponent batting average. The Guardians offense has scored 545 runs with a .248 batting average and a .310 on base percentage this season. Jose Ramirez is batting .277 with 21 home runs and 71 RBI’s for the Guardians. The projected starting pitcher for Cleveland is Cal Quantrill, who is 2-6 with a 6.45 ERA and a 1.57 WHIP over 67 innings pitched this year. 

Cleveland Guardians Team Facts

  • The Guardians have won each of their last three games as home underdogs against the Rays.
  • The Guardians have failed to cover the run line in each of their last 11 games against American League opponents after going to extra innings.
  • The Guardians have trailed after 5 innings in each of their last seven games at Progressive Field.
  • The 'Inning 1 UNDER 0.5 runs' market has hit in each of the Guardians' last three night games.

Tampa Bay Rays Team Facts

  • The Rays have won 10 of their last 11 night games against AL Central opponents.
  • The Rays have covered the run line each of their last five games at Progressive Field against teams that held a losing record.

Cleveland Guardians Player Prop Facts

  • Jose Ramirez has hit a home run in each of the Guardians' last two games as underdogs against AL East opponents.
  • Ramon Laureano has recorded at least one RBI in each of the Guardians' last three games as underdogs against AL East opponents.
  • Andres Gimenez has scored at least one run in each of the Guardians' last four night games.
  • Andres Gimenez has recorded at least one hit in each of the Guardians' last eight Friday night games against AL East opponents that held a winning record.
  • Andres Gimenez has recorded at least one total base in each of the Guardians' last eight Friday night games against AL East opponents that held a winning record.

Tampa Bay Rays Player Prop Facts

  • Jose Siri has hit a home run in two of his last three appearances against the Guardians after not playing the previous day.
  • Josh Lowe has recorded at least one RBI in each of the Rays' last six road games.
  • Randy Arozarena has scored at least one run in 11 of the Rays' last 12 games against opponents that held a losing record.
  • Yandy Diaz has recorded two or more total bases in each of the Rays' last six night games against opponents that held a losing record.
  • Tyler Glasnow has recorded seven or more strikeouts in 10 of his last 11 appearances.
  • Randy Arozarena has recorded at least one hit in each of the Rays' last 10 Friday games against AL Central opponents that held a losing record.
  • Yandy Diaz ranks 6th amongst qualified players for On Base Percentage (.403) this season.

Matchup/League Facts

  • The Cleveland Guardians ranks T3rd in the league for home runs allowed this season (142).
  • The Cleveland Guardians ranks T4th in the league for triples this season (25).
  • The Tampa Bay Rays ranks 2nd in the league for steals this season (141).
  • The Tampa Bay Rays are one of only 2 teams in the league to rank top 10 in both steals and batting average this season.

Pick

This is another series that has a ton of playoff implications, as the Guardians try to stay in the race for the AL Central and the Rays try to catch the Orioles. Tampa Bay has played very well recently and they are 37-29 on the road. The Rays are starting Tyler Glasnow, who has allowed one earned run or fewer in four of his last five starts. The Guardians are starting Cal Quantrill, who has been on the IL since early July. Quantrill has allowed five earned runs or more in his last four starts. Take the Rays -1.5 in this game. 

David’s Pick Rays -1.5

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The pick in this article is the opinion of the writer, not a PickDawgz site consensus.
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