Houston Astros vs. Tampa Bay Rays, 7/1/2018 Prediction & Preview
The Tampa Bay Rays have an opportunity to take three of four against the defending Houston Astros. Are they worth a play as the underdog on Sunday?
Game Snapshot & Odds
919 Houston Astros at 920 Tampa Bay Rays
Sunday, July 1, 2018
1:10 p.m. ET, Tropicana Field
TV: HOU (ATTH); TB (FS SUN)
Public Betting Trends
Oddsmakers from online sportsbooks currently list the Astros as a -140 favorite. As of this writing, 71% of the betting tickets wagered at online sportsbooks are on the Astros to beat the Rays on the moneyline.
Astros’ Morton strikes out 13 over seven scoreless vs. Blue Jays
Charlie Morton struck out 13 over seven innings and combined with two relievers on a shutout of the Blue Jays on Tuesday. Morton had one career 10-strikeout game going into last year. He then turned in three in 2017. This year, he’s had five already and he still has three months to go. Overall, he’s 10-1 with a 2.54 ERA, which is pretty incredible. He’s struck out 122 in 95 2/3 innings.
Rays’ Snell strikes out 10 in gem vs. Nationals
Blake Snell struck out 10 in seven innings Monday as the Rays shut out the Nationals 11-0. Snell had a no-hitter going until Anthony Rendon singled in the seventh. That was probably for the best, since Snell had walked four and the Rays weren’t going to want him running up a career-high pitch count in a blowout. He ended up being pulled after 103 pitches on the night. Snell is 10-4 with a 2.31 ERA.
MLB Betting Trends
Houston
The Astros have won all four of Morton’s last four starts.
Tampa Bay
The Rays have won seven of their last eight games overall.
Prediction:
With just over 70% of betting tickets on the Astros you can sense what many public bettors are thinking.
‘Hey, the Astros aren’t going to lose three straight to the Rays, right?’
The defending champ’s moneyline price is relatively inexpensive, which no doubt fuels the thought of laying the odds on the favorite. Still, I see plenty of value in the Rays. First and foremost, they’re hot. And they’ve been hot for about a week now. Second, some of the Astros have complained about playing at Tropicana Field, chief among them is their manager A.J. Hinch.
Thus, you get plus odds with a hot Rays team against an opponent in the Astros that can’t figure out Tampa’s pitching and hates playing at Tropicana Field. Sign me up for the Rays.
The Pick: Tampa Bay Rays +120
