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The Houston Astros and Tampa Bay Rays will complete their three-game set on Wednesday at 1:10 pm ET. The two teams split the first two games of the series, so this is the rubber game for the series.
Astros vs. Rays Recent Form and Records
The Astros are 25-23 heading into today's contest. They've won six of their last 10, though they did lose last night. Houston is in second place in their division and is coming off a series win over the Texas Rangers.
Tampa Bay is 22-26 heading into today's game. They're 5-5 in the last 10 games and won last night, so they could start a winning streak. The Rays are coming off a series loss to the Miami Marlins.
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Players to Watch
Starting Pitchers
Hunter Brown (6-2, 1.43 ERA, 67 strikeouts) vs. Taj Bradley (3-3, 4.80 ERA, 41 strikeouts)
Hunter Brown was 11-9 with a 3.49 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, and 179 strikeouts in 170 innings pitched last year.
Last Start: Eight innings, three hits, one run, no walks, and eight strikeouts
Career vs. Rays: 2-0 with a 1.06 ERA and 17 strikeouts in 17 innings (four appearances)
Taj Bradley was 8-11 with a 4.11 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, and 154 strikeouts in 138 innings pitched last season.
Last Start: Four innings, six hits, five earned runs, three walks, and six strikeouts
Career vs. Astros: 1-2 with a 9.95 ERA and 16 strikeouts in 12.2 innings (three appearances)
Must-watch Hitters
Astros
Isaac Paredes is providing the power for Houston. He leads with eight home runs and 25 RBI. He also has a team-high .376 OBP.
Jeremy Pena has the most hits on the roster with 55. He is also one of the team leaders with an .801 OPS.
Rays
Jonathan Aranda has paced the Rays this year. He leads the team with a .310 average and a .396 on-base percentage.
Yandy Diaz has the most hits (45) on the Rays. He also leads the team with 24 RBI and has a .701 OPS.
Injuries
The latest Rays injury update says that Ha-Seong Kim is nearing a rehab assignment. So is Jake Mangum. Eloy Jimenez is day-to-day, and Kevin Kelly is beginning a rehab assignment.
For the Astros, Hayden Wesneski just got transferred to the 60-day IL. Yordan Alvarez remains on IL as well.
Astros vs. Rays Baseball Betting Odds
Astros vs Rays Expert Predictions
While Taj Bradley will be on the mound, Hunter Brown is the current AL Cy Young favorite by many estimates. He's been incredible, so the pitching matchup leans heavily towards Houston.
On offense, the Rays have struggled. Houston is a little banged up and hasn't been their usual dominant selves, but it won't matter with Brown on the mound today.
Prediction: Astros 5, Rays 1
