Tampa Bay Rays vs Cleveland Guardians Prediction – 8/25/2025
The Cleveland Guardians will face off against the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday night at Progressive Field. Cleveland is looking to halt a five‑game losing streak and they are favored to do so against the bullpen of the Rays. Before first pitch from Northeast Ohio, continue reading to get my Rays vs Guardians prediction.
Our Rays vs Guardians Pick
- Pick: Tampa Bay Rays Moneyline
- Confidence: 3/5
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Game Snapshot
- Matchup: Tampa Bay Rays at Cleveland Guardians
- Date & Time: Monday, August 25, 2025, 6:40 p.m. ET
- Starting Pitchers: Ian Seymour (Rays) vs. Tanner Bibee (Guardians)
- Stadium: Progressive Field, Cleveland, OH
- Broadcast: Fox Sports 1
Key Storylines
Pitching matchup
Cleveland will go with Tanner Bibee on the mound to start this contest. Bibee has a respectable 4.55 ERA and a 9‑9 record this year. Tampa Bay sends Ian Seymour to the bump to begin a bullpen game for them. Seymour is a rookie with limited MLB experience. But his 3.86 ERA in relief suggests promise. The Rays will have to piece this game together out of their bullpen and that could make things tougher than usual for them.
Key Players
- Rays: Junior Caminero was a 2025 All‑Star. He is a key piece in the Tampa Bay offense with 37 home runs and 91 RBI.
- Guardians: Key contributors like Steven Kwan and Jose Ramirez will look to drive up the pitch count of Seymour early and force the Rays to use a ton of bullpen arms in this series opener.
Recent team streaks
- The Guardians have dropped their last five games. They were swept by the Texas Rangers over the weekend and were shut out in the final two games of that series.
- The Rays have won two straight games going into this series and they took two out of three against the St. Louis Cardinals over the weekend.
Best Player Props
| Player | Prop |
|---|---|
| Junior Caminero (TB) | Over 0.5 Home Runs |
| Tanner Bibee (CLE) | Under 5.5 Strikeouts |
Betting Trends & H2H
- This is the first game played between the Guardians and Rays so far this season.
- These teams will play seven times between now and the end of the regular season.
- Cleveland has scored five total runs over their last four games coming into this matchup.
- The Rays have scored 17 runs over their last two games.
Rays vs Guardians Model Projection
Score Projection: Rays 3 – Guardians 2
Win Probability: Rays 54%, Guardians 46%
Final Thoughts
The fact that this is a bullpen game for the Rays isn’t ideal. But I still think that Tampa comes through with a win on the road tonight. The Guardians are struggling mightily at the plate and Tampa should be able to take advantage of that and win a low-scoring game that will be competitive throughout.
