San Diego Padres vs Tampa Bay Rays Prediction MLB Picks 8/31/24

In this article, we will formulate a San Diego Padres vs Tampa Bay Rays prediction for this MLB game on Saturday, August 31st at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. To formulate this prediction for game two in the series, we will examine:

• The Padres’ recent form and recent player performance 
• The Rays’ recent form and recent play performance
• Recent Betting trends and streaks involving San Diego
• Recent Betting trends and streaks involving Tampa Bay
• Recent betting trends in games played between San Diego and Tampa Bay
• A summary that ties it all together and produces a favorable betting outcome for Today’s Game between San Diego and Tampa Bay

San Diego Padres Betting Preview

The San Diego Padres are 77-60 this year and they have lost two of their last three games. San Diego won game one in this series by a score of 13-5 on Friday night. Prior to this series, the Padres split four games with the Cardinals, split four games with the Mets, and won two out of three against the Twins. San Diego is 5-3 in their last eight games and they are third in the NL West. 

The San Diego pitching staff has a 3.97 ERA, a 1.25 WHIP, and a .244 opponent batting average. The Padres offense has scored 656 runs with a .265 batting average and a .326 on base percentage. Manny Machado is batting .274 with 23 home runs and 83 RBI’s for the Padres this season. 

Tampa Bay Rays Betting Preview

The Tampa Bay Rays are 66-68 this season and they have lost four of their last five games. Tampa Bay dropped game one in this series and they allowed 13 points in the loss. Prior to this series, the Rays lost two out of three against the Mariners, lost two out of three against the Dodgers, and split four games with the Athletics. Tampa Bay is 2-6 in their last eight games and they are fourth in the AL East. 

The Tampa Bay pitching staff has a 3.97 ERA, a 1.23 WHIP, and a .241 opponent batting average. The Rays’ offense has scored 513 runs with a .230 batting average and a .305 on base percentage. Yandy Diaz is batting .276 with 12 home runs and 59 RBI’s for the Rays this season. 

Starting Pitchers

The projected starting pitcher for San Diego is Randy Vasquez, who is 4-6 with a 4.52 ERA and a 1.49 WHIP over 87.2 innings pitched this year. Vasquez has allowed two earned runs or fewer in two of his last three starts. The projected starting pitcher for Tampa Bay is Shane Baz, who is 1-2 with a 3.48 ERA and a 1.32 WHIP over 44.0 innings pitched this season. Baz has allowed two earned runs or fewer in three of his last five starts. 

Why the Padres will beat the Rays

• The Padres have won five of their last six games as underdogs against American League opponents.
• The Rays have lost each of their last four Saturday day games as favorites against NL West opponents.
• The underdogs have covered the run line in seven of the Rays’ last eight games at Tropicana Field.
• The Rays have failed to cover the run line in six of their last seven games as favorites.
• The Padres have led after 3 innings in three of their last four games as underdogs.

Total Runs Facts

• Each of the Padres’ last four games against AL East opponents has gone OVER the total runs line.
• Five of the Rays’ last six games as favorites have gone UNDER the total runs line.
• The ‘Inning 1 UNDER 0.5 runs’ market has hit in each of the Padres’ last four-day games.
• The ‘Inning 1 OVER 0.5 runs’ market has hit in each of the Rays’ last three games as favorites against National League opponents.

Tampa Bay Rays Player Prop Facts

• Brandon Lowe has hit a home run in three of the Rays’ last four-day games against NL opponents that held a winning record.
• Brandon Lowe has recorded at least one hit in each of his last 10 appearances against NL West opponents that held a winning record.
• Taylor Walls has recorded at least one Single in each of his five previous home appearances against NL West opponents that held a winning record.
• Brandon Lowe has recorded at least one total base in each of his last 10 appearances against NL West opponents that held a winning record.
• Taylor Walls has scored at least one run in four of his five previous home appearances against NL West opponents that held a winning record.
• Brandon Lowe has recorded at least one RBI in four of his last five appearances in day games against NL West teams that held a winning record.
• Brandon Lowe has recorded at least one Double in three of his last four appearances with the Rays as home favorites.

San Diego Padres Player Prop Facts

• Xander Bogaerts has recorded at least one RBI in seven of his last eight appearances against AL East opponents.
• Jackson Merrill has recorded a Double in four of the Padres’ last five games as road underdogs against AL East opponents.
• Jackson Merrill has hit a home run in each of the Padres’ last three-day games.
• Luis Arraez has recorded at least one hit in each of his last 13 appearances with his team as a road underdog against AL opponents.
• Manny Machado has recorded at least one Single in each of the Padres’ last eight games against AL East opponents that held a losing record.
• Xander Bogaerts has recorded at least one total base in each of his 16 previous appearances against AL opponents that held a losing record.
• Jackson Merrill has scored at least one run in each of the Padres’ last seven-day games against opponents that held a losing record.

San Diego Padres vs Tampa Bay Rays Prediction 

San Diego jumped all over the Rays pitching staff in game one of this series and they will look to stay hot on the road with another win here. The Padres are 40-28 on the road, while the Rays are 34-35 at home. Tampa Bay had some momentum a few series ago, but their offense is way too inconsistent for sustained success. Both of these starting pitchers have been pretty solid over the last few starts, but I can’t trust the Tampa Bay offense. Give me the Padres to get another win here. 

David Racey's Pick: Padres ML