Tampa Bay Rays vs. Houston Astros, 6/19/2018 Prediction & Odds
The Houston Astros are the hottest team in baseball and they’ve also been the hottest ‘over’ play for bettors. Will the over cash again when they host the Kansas City Royals at 8:10 p.m. ET?
Game Snapshot & Odds
915 Tampa Bay Rays (+220) at 916 Houston Astros (-255)
Tuesday, June 19, 2018
8:10 p.m. ET, Minute Maid Park
TV: TB (FS SUN); HOU (ATTH)
Public Betting Trends
Oddsmakers from online sportsbooks currently list the Astros as a -255 favorite. As of this writing, 75% of the betting tickets wagered at online sportsbooks are on the Astros to beat the Rays on the moneyline.
Rays’ Snell starts strong but falters in loss to Yankees
Blake Snell allowed four runs, all in the fifth inning, while striking out eight in a loss to the Yankees on Thursday. Snell avoided trouble while racking up the strikeouts through the first four innings, elevating his pitch count in the process. It caught up to him in the fifth, presumably, when Aaron Hicks hit a one-out homer and with two outs and two on, Gleyber Torres hit his 103rd pitch over the left field wall. He’d allowed just one earned run in his previous four starts combined, and even this was a case of a razor’s edge being the difference between a strong start and a disappointing one.
On the year, the 25-year-old is 8-4 with a 2.58 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and 97 strikeouts through 15 starts. Snell will look to get back on the right side of the ledger Tuesday in a start against the defending World Champion Astros.
Astros’ Verlander allows two home runs in win over A’s
Justin Verlander scattered five hits and three runs over seven innings Thursday in the Astros’ win over the Athletics. He fanned seven over 100 pitches. The right-hander didn’t record any walks, though he did hit a batter. Verlander allowed an unusual amount of hard contact in this one with four of the five hits against him going for extra bases. That included home runs by Khris Davis and Matt Olson, which accounted for all three of Oakland’s runs. Thursday’s outing raised Verlander’s ERA from 1.45 to 1.61. He’ll take a six-start unbeaten streak into his next outing Tuesday against Tampa Bay.
MLB Betting Trends
Tampa Bay
The Rays are 1-4 in their last five games overall and have dropped 10 of their last 11 games on the road.
Houston
The Astros are 23-5 in their last 28 home games versus a team with a losing road record and are 57-24 in their last 81 games following a win.
Prediction:
The over is now 10-2 in the last 12 meetings between these two teams after cashing on Monday night and is 7-2 in the last nine meetings between these two teams in Houston. The over has also cashed in six straight Houston home games and is 20-5-1 in the Astros’ last 26 games overall.
The Pick: Rays/Astros over 7