PHOENIX, ARIZONA – APRIL 24: Relief pitcher Pete Fairbanks #29 and catcher Ben Rortvedt #30 of the Tampa Bay Rays celebrate a 7-4 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks in 10 innings at Chase Field on April 24, 2025 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images)
The Tampa Bay Rays will continue their road trip with a trip to Southern California to take on the San Diego Padres. It is a rare interleague matchup in what promises to be a close, competitive game.
Tampa Bay's best feature is easily its starting pitching rotation. The Rays have three excellent starters, one of whom will be on the mound tonight. Shane Baz has enjoyed a great start to the season, putting up a 3.22 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP through four starts. His last start brought him back down to Earth, as he got hammered for five runs over three innings, but a matchup with a cold Padres offense offers Baz an opportunity to rebound against a typically excellent offense.
Usually, having Baz starting means the Rays have the pitching advantage. That is not the case tonight, as San Diego will entrust the ball to Michael King. King has even better numbers than his Tampa Bay counterpart, posting a 2.57 ERA and an identical WHIP through five starts. He has been even better on his home field, earning improved numbers across the board. The Rays have been fairly streaky at the plate as of late, and King is the perfect guy to keep them on the cold side of that streak.
Spread
- Rays +1.5 (-175)
- Padres -1.5 (+156)
Moneyline
- Rays +130
- Padres -140
Totals
- OVER 7 (-102)
- UNDER 7 (-115)
*The above data was collected on April 25, 2025, and may have changed since writing.
Rays vs Padres Betting Trends
- The Rays are 6-5 ATS when playing National League opponents.
- The Rays are 9-11 ATS in games they play without rest.
- The UNDER is 6-4-1 when Tampa Bay plays a National League opponent.
- The Padres are 16-9 ATS on the season.
- The Padres are 1-0 ATS when they have the rest advantage.
- The UNDER is 8-4-1 in San Diego's home games.
Rays vs Padres Injury Reports
Tampa Bay Rays
- Ha-Seong Kim, SS - Out.
- Jonny DeLuca, CF - Out.
- Josh Lowe, RF - Out.
- Richie Palacios, OF - Out.
- Jake Mangum, OF - Out.
San Diego Padres
- Luis Arraez, 1B - Out.
- Jake Cronenworth, 2B - Out.
- Jason Heyward, LF - Out.
- Jackson Merrill, CF - Out.
- Brandon Lockridge, OF - Out.
Rays vs Padres Predictions and Picks
Bosun Akinpelu of Winners and Whiners writes, "Tampa Bay won't be as successful offensively because King has done a good job on the mound for the Padres, especially at home where he gave up three runs in three starts. With San Diego having the best bullpen in the league, they will keep Tampa Bay's offense in check. Take San Diego on the run line."
The Padres are a decent play, but counting on them to win by multiple runs is a dubious prospect. Instead, the under is the best pick on the board. Both pitchers have been fantastic, and each offense has hit an incredibly cold run at the plate. Each team is missing offensively significant players, too, which helps the case for this being one of the lowest-scoring games of the day. The Padres will likely win, but it should be a score of 2-1 or something similar.
