Tampa Bay Rays (14-2) vs. Cincinnati Reds (6-8)
April 18, 2023 6:40 pm EDT
The Line: Cincinnati Reds -110 / Tampa Bay Rays -110 ; Over/Under: 9.5
(Get latest betting odds)
The Tampa Bay Rays and the Cincinnati Reds meet Tuesday in MLB action from Great American Ball Park. This will be the second installment in a three-game series this week. In the Monday opener, the Reds powered out a seven-run victory. Check back all season long for free MLB picks at Sports Chat Place.
Tampa Bay Rays
The Rays played the Blue Jays over the weekend, losing 6-3 Friday and 5-2 Saturday before an 8-1 Sunday win. In the Monday game against the Reds, Tampa Bay couldn’t score until the ninth inning despite eight team hits in an 8-1 defeat. Jalen Beeks lasted 3.0 innings with one earned on one hit and two walks.
For the starter job in the Tuesday matchup the Rays will bring back top pitching prospect Taj Bradley. In his lone start on April 12 versus Boston Bradley put up a win with 5.0 innings, three earned, five hits, one walk and eight Ks.
Cincinnati Reds
Over on the Reds’ side, they split a four-game series with the Phillies over the weekend, winning Thursday and Saturday. In the Monday game Cincinnati scored three runs in the fourth inning and never looked back in the win. Hunter Greene managed 3.0 clean frames with three hits, no walks and one K.
Nick Lodolo will make the start for the Reds on Tuesday. Across his three starts so far Lodolo is 2-0 with a 2.12 ERA and 27 Ks in 17.0 innings. He’s 6-7 with a 3.44 ERA over 22 career games.
The Rays are 8-3 in their last 11 Tuesday games and 36-17 in their last 53 interleague games. Tampa Bay is 4-1 in their last five in game two of a series.
Meanwhile, the Reds are 20-41 in their last 61 Tuesday games and 18-44 in their last 62 in game two of a series. The under is 5-2 in Cincinnati’s last seven Tuesday games.
ANDREW’S FREE PICK
I might take a stab on Cincinnati in this one; you could easily make a case for Bradley and the Rays, though. Lodolo is looking good so far; he’s hit 5.0 innings or more in each start and hasn’t given up more than two earned or two walks in any outing. In the Monday opener of this series, the Reds did quite a bit with seven team hits; Kevin Newman was the only player on the team with more than one (3-for-4; two runs; two RBI). The pitching staff did a solid job as well. Another decent effort like that and the Reds will be in good shape. I think they’ve got a reasonable shot at another win in game two. It’ll be interesting to see what Bradley can do on the other side, though.
