Rays vs Reds Odds, Picks & Starting Pitchers (April 19)

• The Rays and Reds meet on Wednesday afternoon
• Tampa Bay is the favorite with Drew Rasmussen on the mound
• The Rays vs Reds odds, preview, and pick can be found below

Wednesday marks the conclusion of a three-game interleague series between the Tampa Bay Rays (14-3, 4-3 away) and the Cincinnati Reds (7-9, 6-4 home) at the Great American Ballpark. The first pitch will be thrown at 12:35 PM ET.

Tampa will surely be confident here with Drew Rasmussen on the hill, who has been dealing so far. Cincy meanwhile sends Levi Stoudt to the mound to make his MLB debut.

Rays vs Reds Odds

The Rays are a -190 favorite for the series finale for an implied win probability of 65.52%. The Reds come back at +160. Cincinnati has actually won four in a row against Tampa ahead of Tuesday’s matchup.

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Odds as of April 18th at DraftKings Sportsbook.

Tampa Bay vs Cincinnati Probable Pitchers

Rasmussen is looking solid through three starts, going 2-1 with a 2.60 ERA. That includes 19 strikeouts in 17.1 innings and just four walks. However, all five of his earned runs were surrendered last time out against the Blue Jays, pitching just 4.1 innings before exiting. He had tossed 13 scoreless frames prior.

Drew Rasmussen, 97mph ⛽️

6th K pic.twitter.com/c7GBmaaWsM

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) April 9, 2023

The righty does tend to struggle against the Reds though, posting an ERA of 7.71 in two career appearances. He’ll be looking to change that on Wednesday and also bounce back from his first rough outing of the campaign.

Rasmussen vs Stoudt Stats

*Stoudt’s stats from Triple-A Louisville.

Stoudt was a third-round pick by the Seattle Mariners in the 2019 draft out of Lehigh and was acquired by the Reds in the Luis Castillo blockbuster at last year’s trade deadline. Stoudt didn’t pitch particularly well in Spring Training, compiling a 13.50 ERA in three outings.

Manager David Bell said it’s just a sport start though, which means he’ll return to Louisville afterward, but will remain on the Taxi Squad. The 25-year-old will surely have his work cut out for him with a potent Rays lineup.

Are The Rays For Real?

This is a question that many are asking a few weeks into the 2023 season. I mean, the Rays did start off 13-0 before losing three of their last four games. Tampa managed to set all sorts of records and truly look phenomenal in nearly every category.

"Wow" is right.@Jason_Adam9 with the casual no-looker to end the game 🤯 pic.twitter.com/3XueCuaM7f

— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) April 16, 2023

They rank 1st in runs, slugging, OPS, and home runs, while the pitching staff has a 2.88 ERA as a group, which is second in the Majors. Monday evening was a rare quiet night for the offense, however, losing 8-1.

Pitching a Problem For Cincy

The Reds are actually scoring 5.1 runs per night, which is top-10 in the MLB. The likes of Jonathan India, TJ Friedl, and Spencer Steer, among others, are all getting it done at the plate.

But, pitching is hurting Cincinnati.  Most notably, Luis Cessa and Connor Overton, who own ERAs over 10. The bullpen hasn’t been the most consistent either, but Graham Ashcraft, Nick Lodolo, and Hunter Greene are managing to show well early on as the top-end of the rotation.

Rays vs Reds Prediction

I simply cannot bet against Rasmussen, especially with a rookie countering on the other side. I expect Tampa Bay to cover the runline and take the rubber match.

Pick: Rays -1.5 (-125)