Rays vs Guardians Odds, Picks & Predictions (Sep. 27)

• The Rays vs Guardians odds favor Cleveland as -140 moneyline favorites on Tuesday (Sept. 27) at 6:10 pm ET
• Tampa Bay will give the ball to Corey Kuber (10-9, 4.30 ERA), while Cleveland will counter with Shane Bieber (12-8, 2.81 ERA)
• Read below for the Rays vs Guardians odds and betting prediction

The Rays (84-69, 33-39 away) and Guardians (86-67, 40-32 home) open up a three-game series on Tuesday in what could be a potential Wild Card Round preview. Cleveland is fresh off clinching the Central division, and is locked into the third seed in the AL. As a result, they’ll host either Tampa Bay or the Blue Jays to begin their postseason journey.

If these two teams do happen to meet in the playoffs, Tampa Bay will get a first hand look at Cleveland’s Game 1 starter on Tuesday. That of course is Shane Bieber, one of the premier pitchers in baseball.

Rays vs Guardians Odds

Odds as of September 26 at FanDuel Sportsbook. Claim the FanDuel Sportsbook promo code.

Bieber’s Guardians opened up as -140 moneyline favorites, in a contest that features a total of 7. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 pm ET at Progressive Field in Cleveland, Ohio, with clear skies and 65 degree game time temperatures in the forecast.

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Tampa Bay vs Cleveland Probable Pitchers

Both of these teams sport World Series odds that are longer than the majority of teams currently in the playoffs. Tampa Bay checks in with +2200 odds to win it all, while the Guardians price tag is +4500.

If Cleveland is going to shock the world, their pitching will have to play a major role. The Guardians boast the sixth best team ERA in baseball, while their bullpen ranks top-four in WAR and xFIP.

Last 11 starts for Shane Bieber:

8-2 W-L, 1.75 ERA, 0.85 WHIP, 77.1 IP, 9 BB, 79 K.#ForTheLand pic.twitter.com/3MEesf91Pa

— Bally Sports Cleveland (@BallySportsCLE) September 23, 2022

Bieber is the leader of the pack among the starters, and spent the majority of the season as an AL Cy Young odds candidate. He ranks top-14 in MLB in ERA, strikeouts and WHIP, and has allowed two runs or less in 10 of his last 11 starts. He’s 8-2 during that stretch with a 1.75 ERA and a 79-to-9 strikeout-to-walk rate.

One of those outings was against the Rays, where he scattered five hits over 7 innings, surrendering one run and striking out eight.

Kluber vs Bieber Stats

Tampa Bay will counter with former Guardians hurler Corey Kluber, who’ll make his first in Cleveland since leaving the team following the 2019 campaign. The 36-year-old won two Cy Young Awards during his time in Ohio, but didn’t fare very well in his lone start against the Guardians this season.

Cleveland tagged him for eight hits and four runs over 6 innings. Kluber did whiff 10 batters that day, but he’s been incredibly inconsistent lately. He’s allowed 23 hits and 11 runs in his past 13.1 innings of work, failing to make it out of the 1st inning three starts ago versus the Yankees.

https://twitter.com/jason_donne/status/1573186624992575489

Kluber’s surrendered a .452 slugging percentage and .755 OPS to current hitters in the Cleveland lineup, while the Rays have lost each of his past three starts.

Rays vs Guardians Betting Trends

Cleveland enters play as perhaps the hottest team in baseball. The Guardians have won seven straight, and 16 of their past 18 games. The lineup, which has been a bit underwhelming in 2022 outside of Jose Ramirez, Steven Kwan and Andres Gimenez, is peaking at the right time.

Cleveland is in the midst of its most successful month of the season, posting numbers at the plate that exceed their season long stats. They’re slashing .268/.335/.416 over the past two weeks, while averaging just shy of six runs per game.

The Cleveland Guardians are the youngest team in baseball.

With an average age under 27, their roster is younger than many minor league teams.

Their $66M payroll is the 4th-lowest in baseball.

Cleveland just won the AL Central with 16 rookie debuts this year — an MLB record. pic.twitter.com/NSbMr3bT6B

— Front Office Sports (@FOS) September 26, 2022

Tampa Bay on the other hand, has hit a cold spell. They’ve dropped five of their past seven, and 11 of their last 17. They’re fresh off being outscored 10-2 over the weekend by Toronto, and have crossed the plate two or fewer times in five of their past seven outings.

The Rays are averaging just 3.4 runs per contest over the last week, while batting only .226. For the season, they rank in the bottom half of the league in scoring, and in the bottom-10 in slugging and OPS.

TB vs CLE Last 10 Meetings

Rays vs Guardians Pick

These two teams are heading in the complete opposite direction. The Guardians are rolling on the mound and at the plate, and Bieber is basically unfadeable at this point. We should expect another quality start from him, especially given the form of the Rays’ bats coming in.

Kluber on other side, will be fired up to pitch at Progressive Field again, but unless he can stay on the mound all night Tampa Bay is in trouble. The Rays bullpen ranks bottom-eight in WAR over the past two weeks, surrendering home runs at the league’s fifth highest rate.

Pick: Cleveland Guardians Moneyline (-140)