Cleveland Guardians vs Tampa Bay Rays Prediction 9/5/2025 Today’s MLB Picks

In this article, we will formulate a Guardians vs Rays Prediction for this MLB game on Friday, September 5th at the George M. Steinbrenner Field in the second game of this series, with the Rays having the 1-0 lead. Let’s take a look at the prediction for this MLB matchup.

Tampa Bay Rays Preview

The Tampa Bay Rays have a 71-69 record this season and are sitting on the 4th place of the AL East. The Rays have a 38-33 home record and are 60-71 in over/under. They are coming off a 4-2 home victory over the Guardians, and have seven consecutive wins. Over is 4-1 in their last 5 games and are playing the Cubs and the White Sox next.

The Rays have a .253 batting average this season, .314 OBP and .403 slugging percentage. Tampa’s pitching staff has a 3.87 ERA and 1.20 WHIP.  Yandy Diaz leads the Rays with 151 hits, and he is the team’s best hitter with .292 batting average. Junior Caminero leads the team in RBI, with 102 and in home runs, with 40.

Reliever Griffin Jax (R) is the projected starting pitcher for the Rays, and he has a 1-7 record, 4.98 ERA and 1.38 WHIP.

Cleveland Guardians Preview

The Cleveland Guardians have a 69-70 record this season and are sitting on the third place of the AL Central. The Guardians have a 34-37 road record and are 65-69 in over/under. They are coming off a 2-4 road defeat by the Rays, and are 1-4 in their last 5 games. Over is 3-1 in their last 4 games and are playing the Royals and the White Sox next.

The Guardians have a .223 batting average this season, .294 OBP and .368 Slugging percentage. Cleveland’s pitching staff has a 3.97 ERA and 1.32 WHIP. Stephen Kwan leads the Guardians with 145 hits, while Jose Ramirez is the team’s best hitter with a .280 batting average. He also leads the team both in RBI, with 71, and in home runs with 27.

Gavin Williams (R) is the projected starting pitcher for the Guardians, and he has a 9-5 record, 3.26 ERA and 1.29 WHIP.

Guardians vs Rays Prediction

The Guardians are 4-2 in their last 6 meetings against the Rays, but the Rays are 3-1 in their last 4 meetings in Tampa. Under is 9-1-1 in their last 11 meetings.

In this Guardians vs Rays Prediction, the Rays are coming as -140 home favorites. The Rays have been red-hot lately, but I am not rushing to the window to back them as big home favorites in a bullpen game. Gavin Williams has been good this season and has a 3.54 road ERA, and has one earned run or less in four of his last six starts, and the Guardians have a better bullpen ERA than the Rays. I will take a stab with the Cleveland Guardians as road dogs in this one.