Tampa Bay Rays (14-18) vs New York Mets (15-15)
Game Info: Friday, May 3, 2024 at 6:50 pm (Tropicana Field)
Aaron Civale (2-2) (5.06) vs Jose Quintana (1-2) (3.48)
Betting Odds: Tampa Bay Rays -156 / New York Mets +131 --- Over/Under: 7.5 Click Here for the Latest Odds
Where to Watch: BALLY, SNY
The New York Mets and the Tampa Bay Rays meet Friday in MLB action from Tropicana Field. Here’s a New York Mets vs Tampa Bay Rays prediction. This will be the first installment in a three-game series. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for the game. We will examine:
• The New York Mets recent form and player performance
• The Tampa Bay Rays recent form and player performance
• Recent betting trends and streaks involving the New York Mets
• Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Tampa Bay Rays
• Recent betting trends in games played between the Mets and Rays
• A summary that ties it all together and produces a favorable betting outcome for the Mets vs Rays game
New York Mets Betting Preview
The Mets took on the Chicago Cubs in their last series. New York managed a 4-2 win on Tuesday, but otherwise lost 3-1 Monday and 1-0 in game three. In the Thursday finale, New York came back from a 4-0 deficit to eventually triumph 7-6 in an 11-inning walk-off. Francisco Lindor turned in four RBI, a run and two hits along the way.
As starting pitcher for Friday’s matchup, the Mets will send out Jose Quintana. This year in six starts Quintana is 1-2 with a 3.48 ERA and 23 Ks in 33.2 innings. Quintana has a career record of 93-95 with a 3.74 ERA in 334 games (308 starts).
Tampa Bay Rays Betting Preview
Over on the Rays’ side, they played the Brewers in their last set. Tampa Bay won 1-0 on Monday but dropped the other two games 8-2 and 7-1. In the Wednesday defeat, Tampa Bay got two hits and a run from Richie Palacios. Starting pitcher Zach Eflin finished with 5.2 innings, three earned, six hits and six Ks.
Aaron Civale will take the mound for the start on Friday for the Rays. Across his six starts this year Civale is 2-2 with a 5.06 ERA and 34 strikeouts over 32.0 innings. Civale is 33-28 with a 3.99 ERA in 92 career games. The Rays will play against the White Sox following this series.
Mets vs Rays Injury Notes
Mets RP Brooks Raley (elbow) is not on track to return from the 15-day Injured List on Sunday when he’s first eligible. SS Francisco Lindor (illness) was out of the lineup on Thursday.
Rays SP Taj Bradley (pectoral) will go out for another rehab appearance with Triple-A Durham this weekend.
Tampa Bay Rays Player Prop Facts
- Amed Rosario has recorded at least one RBI in five of his last six appearances after not playing the previous day.
- Aaron Civale has recorded six or more strikeouts in each of his last four home appearances.
- Isaac Paredes has recorded two or more total bases in each of the Rays' last nine night games against opponents that held a winning record.
- Isaac Paredes has recorded at least one hit in each of the Rays' last nine night games against opponents that held a winning record.
- Isaac Paredes has recorded at least one Single in each of the Rays' last six night games against NL opponents that held a winning record.
- Yandy Diaz has recorded a Double in each of his last three appearances with the Rays as favorites against NL East opponents.
- Josh Lowe has scored at least one run in seven of his last eight appearances.
- Jose Siri has hit a home run in each of his three previous appearances against the Mets.
- Jose Caballero ranks T6th in the league in Steals (9) this season.
New York Mets Player Prop Facts
- Pete Alonso has hit a home run in four of the Mets' last five games against the Rays.
- Pete Alonso has recorded at least one RBI in each of the Mets' last four road games against AL East opponents that held a losing record.
- Pete Alonso has scored at least one run in each of the Mets' last five games against AL opponents.
- Jose Quintana has recorded five or more strikeouts in each of his last four appearances with his team as an underdog against AL opponents.
- Jeff McNeil has recorded at least one total base in each of his 11 previous appearances against AL East opponents that held a losing record.
- Jeff McNeil has recorded at least one hit in each of his 11 previous appearances against AL East opponents that held a losing record.
- Jeff McNeil has recorded a Double in each of his last three road appearances against AL East opponents that held a losing record.
- Jeff McNeil has recorded at least one Single in each of his 10 previous appearances in night games against AL East teams that held a losing record.
- Pete Alonso ranks T5th in the league in Home Runs (8) this season.
Matchup/League Facts
- The Tampa Bay Rays rank T28th in the league for home runs allowed this season (42).
- The Tampa Bay Rays rank 27th in the league for doubles this season (40).
- The New York Mets rank 1st in the league for home runs allowed this season (18).
- The New York Mets rank T29th in the league for triples this season (1).
New York Mets vs Tampa Bay Rays Prediction
I’ll lean toward the Mets in this one. Some of that is due to Civale’s recent struggles. In his last two starts combined, Civale has 9.0 innings with 11 earned runs on 16 hits and five walks. Tampa Bay’s offense has also been struggling as of late. The Rays have scored two runs or fewer in four straight games.
As for the Mets, on Thursday they did a great job coming back from deficits 4-0, 5-2 and 6-5 along the way to their hard-earned win. The bullpen was great with five different pitchers combining for 6.0 innings, five hits, three walks and six Ks. I like New York to keep it going on Friday.
Andrew’s Pick New York Mets +131
AUTHOR: Andrew Jett
