Indians vs. Rays Prediction
The Cleveland Indians will attempt to avoid a three-game road sweep today in their series finals at the Tampa Bay Rays. Can Cleveland salvage a game despite being the underdogs?
Game Snapshot
971 Cleveland Indians at 972 Tampa Bay Rays
Sunday, September 1, 2019
Tropicana Field at 1:10PM ET
TV: Fox Sports Sun
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Public Betting Information
According to oddsmakers, the Rays are a -184 favorite to win on the moneyline. The Indians are a +174 underdog, while the total sits at 8 runs. As of Sunday morning, 63 percent of public bets are being placed on visiting Cleveland. Check out our MLB Public Betting Page for the latest info.
Indians unable to rally back
Cleveland scored two runs in the eighth and the ninth innings Saturday night at Tampa Bay but it was not enough as the visitors fell 9-6. Carlos Santana led the Indians offense as he went 2-for-3 with a home run, a double, a walk and two RBIs. Franmil Reyes ended the game 3-for-4 with a run scored. Greg Allen finished 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs. Zach Plesac took the loss as he allowed four earned runs on six hits with four strikeouts and one walk over five innings. Adam Plutko gets the start today for Cleveland as he enters with a 6-3 record, 4.34 ERA and 1.14 WHIP with 56 strikeouts over 83 innings pitched.
Rays homer four times in win
Tampa Bay posted a 9-6 home win Saturday night over Cleveland to improve to 79-58 overall and 36-31 at home. Travis d’Arnaud helped lead the Rays offense as he went 1-for-4 with a solo home run, a walk and two runs scored. Avisail Garcia finished 2-for-4 with a home run, two runs and two RBIs. Tommy Pham was 2-for-4 with a home run, a walk and two RBIs. Ji-Man Choi ended the contest 3-for-4 with a solo homer and two runs scored. Jalen Beeks picked up the win in relief as he gave up four hits with one strikeout and no walks over three scoreless frames. Emilio Pagan retired both batters he faced with one strikeout to notch the save. Charlie Morton gets the start today as he comes in with a 13-6 record, 3.11 ERA and 1.09 WHIP with 201 strikeouts over 165 innings of work.
MLB Betting Trends
Cleveland
The Indians are 9-2 in their last 11 Sunday games. Cleveland is 1-4 in its last five games versus the AL East.
Tampa Bay
The Rays are 23-5 in their last 28 Sunday games. Tampa Bay is 5-2 in its last seven home games.
Prediction:
Morton wasn’t good in his last start, but I’ll take his overall season numbers over a small sample size of one start. With the Indians banged up right now, I expect Morton to bounce back with a strong start. Plutko isn’t dominant and won’t fool a lot of Tampa Bay hitters. I’m betting on the Rays to complete the sweep this afternoon.
MLB DAILY PREDICTION: TAMPA BAY RAYS -184