Rays vs Phillies Odds, Picks, and Probable Pitchers (August 24)

• The Rays visit the Phillies for a two-game set on Tuesday
• Tampa is currently in first place in the AL East, while Philly is five games behind the Atlanta Braves for top spot in the NL East
• Get the odds, preview, and prediction below

The Tampa Bay Rays (77-48, 36-25 away) continue to stay hot as they head out east to face the Philadelphia Phillies (63-61, 36-25 home) on Tuesday for the first of a two-game set at Citizens Bank Park. First-pitch is set for 7:05 pm ET.

Tampa won the previous two meetings between these clubs in May. In fact, they’ve won five straight against the Phillies. The Rays will hand Drew Rasmussen the ball, while Ranger Suarez takes the hill for the home team.

Rays vs Phillies Odds

Odds as of August 23rd at DraftKings.

Probable Pitchers

Rasmussen will get another opportunity to make a start on Tuesday after he impressed while Ryan Yarbrough was on the COVID-19 list. He’s mostly been a reliever this season, making 29 appearances while posting a 3.64 ERA. This will be just his fourth game of 2021 in the rotation. In fact, the right-hander has done very well in his last two outings as a starter. Last week, Rasmussen gave up just one hit while surrendering no runs to the Baltimore Orioles in four innings, then before that, he limited the Boston Red Sox to one run.

Another strong start for @Drew_Rasmussen_ last night.

Worked 4 IP, striking out 3 versus Baltimore. Walked 1 and allowed just 1 hit.#GoBeavs pic.twitter.com/zyzuHxgXd8

— Oregon State Baseball (@BeaverBaseball) August 18, 2021

The 26-year-old has been dominant with his high 90’s fastball and wipeout slider, striking out 57 hitters in 47 innings of work. There’s a handful of batters on the Phillies who have faced Rasmussen. They’ve had basically no success against him. However, it’s been a rather small sample size.

Rasmussen vs Suarez

Just like Rasmussen, Suarez has mostly pitched out of the bullpen this season. However, he’s been in the Phillies rotation lately, making three straight starts. In his last outing, the lefty went 4.2 innings against the Arizona Diamondbacks, giving up three runs and eight hits as he took the loss. Suarez’s command was also shaky, allowing three walks. He will need to sharpen it up vs. Tampa, who will do damage if he gets behind in the count.

https://twitter.com/BrodesMedia/status/1428182752004911114

On the year though, the 25-year-old has been very effective. He’s posted 1.47 ERA in 55 innings and also struck out 53. Suarez has only faced two hitters in the Rays lineup but other than that, he’s very unfamiliar with them.

Batting Average vs Starting Pitchers

The Phillies are coming off a solid series against the San Diego Padres where they took two out of three. It was a huge improvement after losing four straight games prior to making the trip down to Petco Park. Philly’s bats woke up in the series finale specifically, winning 7-4. First baseman Rhys Hoskins returned with a bang, slugging two homers and giving a much-needed spark to the offense.

While this Tampa matchup will be very tough for the Phillies, there is a four-game set against the Diamondbacks up next. With the Braves continuing to stay hot, Philadelphia needs to be a lot more consistent in all aspects if they’re going to have any chance at catching Atlanta in their division.

🤘#RingTheBell pic.twitter.com/TBmxnT5nM9

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) August 22, 2021

The Rays continue to win ballgames in an extremely competitive AL East. Tampa is 7-3 in their last 10 games and just won two out of three against a very strong Chicago White Sox team. In the series finale, The Rays blanked the Sox 9-0 behind some tremendous pitching from the bullpen after Chris Archer left the game with an injury after just two innings.

Mejía says we'll take 3️⃣ more pic.twitter.com/Ql0HcnMCds

— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) August 22, 2021

The long ball has been a huge part of their brilliance at the dish, going deep 139 times this season, which is seventh in the majors. Although injuries have been a problem within their pitching staff, Kevin Cash’s squad has continued to throw the ball well, with Rasmussen being one of the main figures who has stepped up and delivered.

Rays vs Phillies Prediction

Tampa hits just .235 against left-handed pitching. Suarez meanwhile, is holding left-handed batters to a dismal .078 average this season. There are numerous guys who swing it from the left-side in the Rays lineup as well. Therefore, the Phillies are a good bet here.

Pick: Philadelphia Phillies moneyline (-105)