The Tampa Bay Rays are 11-0 in the last 11 games that Tyler Glasnow has started, including 3-0 so far this postseason. Glasnow will try to lead the Rays to another win Wednesday night against the Houston Astros to secure a sweep in the ALCS.
- Date/Time: October 14, 8:40 p.m. ET
- Stadium: Petco Park
- TV Coverage: TBS
- Sportsbook Odds: Rays -133 | O/U 8 (Line History)
- Rays vs Astros Matchup Report
Sportsbook Odds Analysis
Early bettors continue to roll with the Rays in Game 4 as Tampa Bay has been bet up to a -140 favorite after Sportsbook as a -133 road favorite. Houston is going off at +130 to extend this series and is just 6-16 as a betting underdog this season. The total has remained steady since Sportsbook at 8 runs.
Starting Pitchers Analysis
Tyler Glasnow started Game 5 against the New York Yankees on two days’ rest and didn’t allow a hit or a run in 2.1 innings of work. Glasnow has a 4.05 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP with 20 strikeouts in 13.1 innings of action this postseason. He will be looking for a bit of redemption from last season when he lost both of his postseason starts against the Astros.
Zack Greinke finished the regular season with a 4.03 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP after suffering through a tough stretch that saw him allow at least three earned runs in each of his last seven regular-season starts. Greinke allowed only one run in four innings in Game 2 against Minnesota in the wild-card round but more recently allowed five hits and four runs in 4.2 innings against the Oakland Athletics last week in their ALDS.
Tampa Bay News & Notes
The Rays put up zeroes in eight of the nine frames that they played in Tuesday night’s Game 3. But in the top of the sixth inning, Tampa Bay collected four hits and was the beneficiary of some Astros mistakes en route to a five-run frame. Those five runs were all that the Rays needed as their pitching staff and bullpen continued to shine in allowing only two runs in a 5-2 victory.
Tampa Bay has now allowed two runs or less in each of its last four games. The big sixth inning opened with a single from Randy Arozarena, who hiked his postseason batting average up to .462 on Tuesday with a three-hit performance.
This Rays team is 48-22 across 60 regular-season games and 10 postseason contests and looks poised to give whoever comes out of the National League one heck of a series in the Fall Classic barring an improbable collapse in the ALCS.
Houston News & Notes
A throwing error by Jose Altuve sparked Tampa Bay’s sixth-inning outburst on Tuesday as it gave the Rays runners on first and second with no outs instead of being turned into an out at second and potentially a double play.
Altuve had another key throwing error in Game 2 that kept the first inning going and opened the door for Manuel Margot’s three-run home run. The 2017 AL MVP is batting .385 with two home runs in this series, but it’s his struggles in the field that are making the headlines.
Houston faces the daunting task of trying to earn four straight wins against this well-oiled Rays machine. The Astros did open the 2020 postseason with four straight wins, but they are just 1-4 since that hot start.
Betting Pick: Tampa Bay -140
Zack Greinke hasn’t been his usual dominant self this season. Tampa Bay has had both the talent edge and the mental edge through the first three games of this series, and with Glasnow on the mound the Rays should be able to complete the sweep.
- Tampa Bay is 5-1 in its last 6 games against Houston.
- Houston is 2-4 in Zack Greinke’s last 6 starts.
- The UNDER is 3-0 through the first 3 games of the ALCS.
