TAMPA, FLORIDA – MAY 20: Taylor Walls #6 of the Tampa Bay Rays hits a walk-off sacrifice fly to defeat the Houston Astros 3-2 in the ninth inning at George M. Steinbrenner Field on May 20, 2025 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)
The Houston Astros will wrap up their series against the Tampa Bay Rays today. The two teams have split the first couple of games of the series, making this a rubber match between two American League playoff hopefuls.
The MLB has its fair share of excellent starting pitchers, but very few of them have been as good as Astros starter Hunter Brown. Brown, who is only 26 years old, has posted a ridiculously good ERA of 1.43 through his nine starts, indicating a number of truly dominant performances. Most recently, Brown tossed eight innings of one-run ball against the Texas Rangers, an outing that is a solid microcosm of just how good the righty has been this season. The Rays offer another opportunity to dominate an offense that has struggled throughout the early months of the 2025 campaign.
Unfortunately for them, the Rays do not have the ability to deploy a pitcher of Brown's caliber. Instead, Tampa Bay will count on Taj Bradley to keep them in the game. Bradley has struggled throughout his nine trips to the bump, putting up a 4.80 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP on the year. Things have not improved as the season has gone on. The Miami Marlins blasted the righty for five runs over four innings of work en route to a Rays loss. The Astros have not been a potent offense, but anyone who struggles with the Marlins will likely have their hands full with Houston's lineup.
Spread
- Astros -1.5 (+120)
- Rays +1.5 (-130)
Moneyline
- Astros -140
- Rays +130
Totals
- OVER 8.5 (-105)
- UNDER 8.5 (+100)
*The above data was collected on May 21, 2025, and may have changed since writing.
Astros vs Rays Betting Trends
- The Astros are 17-13 ATS against American League opponents.
- The Astros are 13-11 ATS when playing on the road.
- The UNDER is 13-9-2 when Houston plays on the road.
- The Rays are 7-17 ATS when playing American League opponents.
- The Rays are 10-20 ATS when playing at home.
- The UNDER is 17-11-2 when Tampa Bay plays at home.
Astros vs Rays Injury Report
Houston Astros
- Yordan Alvarez, DH - Out.
Tampa Bay Rays
- Ha-Seong Kim, SS - Out.
- Jonny DeLuca, LF - Out.
- Jake Mangum, OF - Out.
- Richie Palacios, OF - Out.
Astros vs Rays Predictions and Picks
Chris King of Winners and Whiners writes, "We've seen Tampa Bay struggle this season, and whether it's because of playing in a spring training venue or the fact that the team simply isn't that good remains to be seen.
Bradley has been up and down on the year and has to deal with an early frontrunner for the AL Cy Young in Brown, who has pitched extremely well. Even in a loss in his last start, he went the distance and allowed just a single run in a 1-0 loss to the Rangers. Houston has played well recently, and they have momentum as they battle in the AL West race. Meanwhile, Tampa Bay is floundering, and Brown extends that misery by delivering a win here."
It is surprising to see the Astros as such small favorites here. Leaning on Brown to spearhead a victory is the right move in this one.
