Guardians vs Rays Prediction - MLB Picks 8/11/23

The Cleveland Guardians will play the Tampa Bay Rays in Game 1 of their series on Friday night at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. Cleveland was able to save a series split in their last series, but they trail Minnesota by a few Games in the AL Central. Tampa Bay is coming off of a really disappointing series loss and they continue to trail the Orioles in the AL East. 

Guardians Preview

The Cleveland Guardians are 56-60 this season and they have lost seven of their last ten Games. Cleveland is coming off of a series split with the Blue Jays, where they won two Games and lost two Games. The Guardians only scored six runs in the four Games against Toronto and they are one of the lowest scoring teams in all of baseball. The Cleveland pitching staff has a 3.76 ERA, a 1.27 WHIP, and a .243 opponent batting average this year. The Guardians offense has scored 463 runs with a .248 batting average and a .311 on base percentage. Jose Ramirez is batting .283 with 18 home runs and 65 RBI’s for the Guardians. The projected starting pitcher for Cleveland is Xzavion Curry, who is 3-1 with a 2.95 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP over 64.0 innings pitched this season.

Rays Preview

The Tampa Bay Rays are 69-48 this season and they have lost three of their last five Games. Tampa Bay is coming off of a series loss to the Cardinals, where they lost two out of three Games at home. The Rays were just starting to get back on the right track, but losing two out of three Games to one of the most disappointing teams in baseball is not a good sign. The Tampa Bay pitching staff has a 3.80 ERA, a 1.19 WHIP, and a .230 opponent batting average. The Rays offense has scored 603 runs with a .255 batting average and a .327 on base percentage this season. Randy Arozarena is batting .256 with 18 home runs and 66 RBI’s for the Rays. The projected starting pitcher for Tampa Bay is Aaron Civale, who is 5-3 with a 2.55 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP over 81.1 innings pitched this year.