The Major League Baseball postseason will begin in Cleveland, with the American League Wild Card round opener between the Tampa Bay Rays and Cleveland Guardians. The Guardians are the lone division winner participating in the Wild Card round in the American League, while the Rays got in as a Wild Card team out of the AL East. In our MLB betting picks for the Wild Card round, we break down Rays vs Guardians Game 1 from a bettor’s perspective.
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Rays vs Guardians Game 1 Betting Pick
MLB
Tampa Bay Rays
Cleveland Guardians
Team Records
TB | Team Records | CLE |
---|---|---|
7-7 | Home | 4-3 |
4-3 | Road | 10-3 |
7-6 | vRHP | 9-6 |
4-4 | vLHP | 5-0 |
3-5 | vs>.500 | 4-3 |
8-5 | vs<.500 | 10-3 |
6-4 | Last10 | 6-4 |
11-9 | Last20 | 14-6 |
11-10 | Last30 | 14-6 |
Team Stats
TB | Team Stats | CLE |
---|---|---|
3.88 | ERA | 3.76 |
.230 | Batting Avg Against | .240 |
1.20 | WHIP | 1.27 |
.282 | BABIP | .286 |
7.7% | BB% | 8.3% |
24.0% | K% | 21.3% |
73.2% | LOB% | 74.3% |
.256 | Batting Avg | .250 |
.443 | SLG | .380 |
.770 | OPS | .693 |
.327 | OBP | .313 |
Pitchers
S. McClanahan | S. Bieber | |
---|---|---|
N/A | Innings | 117.0 |
N/A | GS | 19 |
N/A | W-L | 5-6 |
N/A | ERA | 3.77 |
N/A | K/9 | 7.31 |
N/A | BB/9 | 2.54 |
N/A | HR/9 | 1.08 |
N/A | LOB% | 76.5% |
N/A | HR/FB% | 13.0% |
N/A | FIP | 4.12 |
N/A | xFIP | 4.08 |
Recent Starts
Date | Opp | W/L | IP | H | R | ER | SO | BB | ST-PC |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
4/30 MIN | Archer ML N/A | L1-9 TOTAL N/A | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 11 | 2 | 57-90 |
4/24 BOS | Hill ML N/A | W5-2 TOTAL N/A | 7 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 64-86 |
4/18 CHC | Hendricks ML N/A | L2-4 TOTAL N/A | 6 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 58-80 |
4/13 OAK | Montas ML N/A | L2-4 TOTAL N/A | 4.2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 3 | 55-85 |
4/8 BAL | Means ML N/A | W2-1 TOTAL N/A | 4.1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 44-68 |
Date | Opp | W/L | IP | H | R | ER | SO | BB | ST-PC |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
9/30 KC | Zerpa ML N/A | W6-1 TOTAL N/A | 3 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 32-50 |
9/24 CHW | Cease ML N/A | L0-1 TOTAL N/A | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 22-34 |
6/13 SEA | Gilbert ML N/A | L2-6 TOTAL N/A | 5.2 | 10 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 2 | 69-107 |
6/8 STL | Martinez ML N/A | W10-1 TOTAL N/A | 6 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 63-98 |
6/1 CHW | Cease ML N/A | W6-5 TOTAL N/A | 7 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 2 | 70-103 |
Betting Trends
TB | Betting Trends | CLE |
---|---|---|
OVERALL | OVERALL | |
0-3-0 | Win/Loss/Tie | 2-1-0 |
0-3-0 | ATS W/L/P | 2-1-0 |
2 | Avg Score | 5.33 |
5.33 | Avg Opp Score | 3.33 |
AWAY | HOME | |
0-3-0 | Win/Loss/Tie | 2-1-0 |
0-3-0 | ATS W/L/P | 2-1-0 |
2 | Avg Score | 5.33 |
5.33 | Avg Opp Score | 3.33 |
TB | Betting Trends | CLE |
---|---|---|
OVERALL | OVERALL | |
0-5-0 | Win/Loss/Tie | 3-2-0 |
1-4-0 | ATS W/L/P | 3-2-0 |
1.6 | Avg Score | 4.8 |
4.2 | Avg Opp Score | 4.4 |
AWAY | HOME | |
0-5-0 | Win/Loss/Tie | 3-2-0 |
1-4-0 | ATS W/L/P | 3-2-0 |
1.6 | Avg Score | 4.8 |
4.2 | Avg Opp Score | 4.4 |
TB | Betting Trends | CLE |
---|---|---|
OVERALL | OVERALL | |
2-8-0 | Win/Loss/Tie | 7-3-0 |
4-6-0 | ATS W/L/P | 6-4-0 |
2.4 | Avg Score | 4.9 |
4 | Avg Opp Score | 3.7 |
AWAY | HOME | |
3-7-0 | Win/Loss/Tie | 7-3-0 |
5-5-0 | ATS W/L/P | 6-4-0 |
3.4 | Avg Score | 5 |
3.3 | Avg Opp Score | 3.7 |
Head to Head
Teams Last 10
This game will be played at Progressive Field at 12:07 PM ET on Friday, October 7, 2022.
Why Bet The Rays:
✅ The Rays have a slight advantage in the starting pitching department in Game 1 of this series. Shane McClanahan has the third-best WHIP in the league this season, and his stinginess will keep runners off the base paths and prevent big innings from Cleveland. While Shane Bieber is a quality starter in his own right, McClanahan will win the battle of the Shanes here to help his team take this series opener.
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✅ The Rays have an experience edge in the postseason against the current iteration of the Guardians. Cleveland has not won a round in the playoffs since 2016, when they went to the World Series. Tampa Bay, meanwhile, has won at least one round in two of the last three postseasons. Expect the Rays to use their experience winning big games to their advantage here against the Guardians on the road.
✅ This season, the Rays are 38-20 as underdogs, which is the role they occupy in this contest. Cleveland, meanwhile, is 41-42 as a favorite on the year. The Rays have been more profitable in this position all season long, making them worth a play as the slightest of underdogs in this Rays vs Guardians Game 1 contest.
Tampa Bay Rays
The Tampa Bay Rays come into the postseason on a cold streak, having lost their last five games to end the regular season. But the Rays were clearly in a playoff position prior to that losing streak, so it is not as if they backed into the playoffs. Here, they look to get back to their winning ways against a Guardians team that finished the season six games better than the Rays.
Shane McClanahan will get the start for Tampa in this contest, in what will be his first start of the season against Cleveland. McClanahan is 12-8 on the season but is top-10 in both ERA (2.54) and WHIP (0.93). If he continues to pitch at the level he has this season, the Rays will like their chances to start this series with a 1-0 lead.
Cleveland Guardians
The Cleveland Guardians caught fire late in this season to win the AL Central and host a series in the Wild Card round. Cleveland has won six of their last eight games, including two out of three in a recent series at home against Tampa Bay. Here, the Guardians will look for similar success against the Rays, who they beat four of six times overall in 2022.
Shane Bieber will get the Game 1 start for the Guardians, after going 13-8 with a 2.88 ERA during the regular season. Bieber has thrown 200 innings this season after dealing with a shoulder injury last year. But he will need to throw some of his best innings of the year here to prevent the Guardians from falling behind at home in this series.