Cleveland Guardians vs Tampa Bay Rays Prediction, Preview and Odds - 07/14/2024

Game Time: 1:40 pm ET, Sunday, July 14, 2024

Venue:  Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, FL 

Where to Watch:  BSGL

DraftKings:  Moneyline odds:  Guardians +105, Rays -125; Over/Under:  7.5 runs

Bet365:  Moneyline odds:  Guardians +105, Rays -125; Over/Under:  7.5 runs

BetMGM:  Moneyline odds:  Guardians +105, Rays -125; Over/Under:  7.5 runs

Cleveland Guardians:  57-36 (1st place, AL Central)

Tampa Bay Rays:  47-47 (4th place, AL East)

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Cleveland Guardians:  4-6 last 10

Tampa Bay Rays:  5-5 last 10

The Guardians are entering this series off a loss and lost their 4-game series against the Detroit Tigers 3-1 in their last series. They enter this game with a 57-36 record overall and have a road record of 27-25. This is the series finale of a 3-game series with the Rays on Sunday with the 2nd game of this series still to be played on Saturday. The Guardians lost the series opener of this series on Friday. Their offense ranks 12th in the MLB with a .724 OPS. Gavin Williams is their starting pitcher on Saturday while Ben Lively is making his start in this game on Sunday. He is 8-4 with a 3.59 ERA this season. His team won their last 2 straight games this season with him making an appearance. In his last MLB regular season start, he allowed 6 ER, 2 HR, and 1 BB with 4 Ks on 7 hits through 5.1 IP against the Detroit Tigers.

The Rays are entering this series off a win and won their 3-game series against the New York Yankees 2-1 in their last series. They enter this game with a 47-47 record overall and have a home record of 26-26. This is the 3rd game of a 3-game series with the Guardians on Sunday with the 2nd game of this series still to be played on Saturday. The Rays won the 1st game of this series on Friday. Their offense ranks 23rd in the MLB with a .682 OPS. Zack Littell is their starting pitcher on Saturday while Ryan Pepiot is making his start in this game on Sunday. He is 5-5 with a 4.20 ERA this season. His team lost 2 of their last 3 games this season with him making an appearance. In his last MLB regular season start, he allowed 1 earned run, 0 homers, and 3 BB with 7 strikeouts on 4 hits through 5.2 innings played against the New York Yankees.

The current betting odds have the Rays listed as a slight favorite in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. The Rays haven't looked great in their games this season with their 47-47 record overall which has them near the bottom of the AL East. They haven't looked good in their own ballpark either, going 26-26 in their home games this year. Meanwhile, the Guardians have looked great in their games this season with their 57-36 record overall which has them leading the AL Central with one of the best records in the entire MLB. They are also 27-25 in their road games this year. The Guardians have been struggling a lot lately as they just lost 3 of their 4 games against the Tigers who are a division opponent below .500, and now they are 4-6 in their last 10 games after losing the 1st game of this series to the Rays. They have been stumbling into the All Star break while the Rays have been getting in a bit of a groove, and the pitching matchup favors the Rays in this one. They will have Pepiot on the mound here and he is 5-5 with a 4.20 ERA. His team has lost 2 of their last 3 games with him starting, but he only gave up 1 earned run in his last start and will continue pitching well here at home. The Guardians are going to have Lively on the mound here and he has been solid this season with his 8-4 record and his 3.59 ERA, but lately he has looked a bit shaky. He gave up 6 earned runs in his last start, blowing a 6-0 lead his team had acquired. They went on to win that game and have won 2 games in a row with him starting, but now the Guardians offense hasn't been producing the runs over the last week so they are going to struggle to find a way to win here. Look for the Rays to take advantage of Lively in this game and finish off strong going into the All Star break. The best way to place a bet here is on the Rays to win this game.

Guardians Rays Prediction:  Our MLB Pick for Sunday, July 14, 2024 (1:40 pm ET start time) is Rays 2 Guardians 1.

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Cleveland Guardians: 58-36 (+14.92 units) on the moneyline in their last 94 games. 46-34 (+10.75 units) on the first 5 runline in their last 80 games. 26-20 to the under in their last 46 away games.

Tampa Bay Rays: 24-54 (-26 units) on the first 5 moneyline in their last 78 games. 45-47 (-10.95 units) on the moneyline in their last 92 games. 12-7 to the under in their last 19 games.

Cleveland Guardians:  S. Hentges (RP) Late July - Shoulder. T. Stephan (RP) out for season - Elbow. J. Karinchak (RP) Out indefinitely - Shoulder. S. Bieber (SP) out for season - Elbow.

Tampa Bay Rays:  R. Lovelady (RP) Out indefinitely - Forearm. J. Waguespack (RP) Out indefinitely - Shoulder. W. Franco (SS) Out indefinitely - Poss. Suspension. J. Springs (RP) Early Aug - Elbow. D. Rasmussen (RP) Mid Aug - Elbow. S. McClanahan (SP) out for season - Elbow.

“We didn’t lose this game because of the runs we gave up. We struggled. Taj Bradley was outstanding. He was landing everything. Didn’t make any mistakes." - Stephen Vogt after his team’s loss against the Rays in their game on Friday.

“I had a calmness today. Just trusting in my stuff now, just knowing it’s going to be what it is.” - Taj Bradley after their win against the Guardians in their game on Friday.

S Kwan (L) LF

A Martínez (S) DH

J Ramírez (S) 3B

J Naylor (L) 1B

J Noel (R) RF

A Gimenez (L) 2B

D Schneemann (L) SS

T Freeman (R) CF

A Hedges (R) C

Y Díaz (R) 1B

B Lowe (L) DH

R Arozarena (R) LF

I Paredes (R) 3B

J Lowe (L) RF

J Siri (R) CF

T Walls (S) SS

R Palacios (L) 2B

A Jackson (R) C

Batting Average:  Steven Kwan (.359)

Hits:  José Ramírez (98)

Home Runs:  José Ramírez (23)

RBI:  José Ramírez (77)

Stolen Bases:  José Ramírez (18)

Wins:  Logan Allen (8)

Saves:  Emmanuel Clase (28)

ERA:  Shane Bieber (0.00)

Batting Average:  Amed Rosario (.303)

Hits:  Yandy Díaz (103)

Home Runs:  Isaac Paredes (15)

RBI:  Isaac Paredes (50)

Stolen Bases:  José Caballero (24)

Wins:  Garrett Cleavinger (5)

Saves:  Pete Fairbanks (16)

ERA:  Edwin Uceta (0.77)

Managers:

Cleveland Guardians: Stephen Vogt (1st season)

Tampa Bay Rays: Kevin Cash (10th season)