Astros vs. Rays Prediction, Odds, Probable Pitchers and Prop Bets for Tuesday, May 20

Betting odds, pick and prediction for the Houston Astros-Tampa Bay Rays matchup on Tuesday, May 20.

Houston Astros third baseman Isaac Paredes is a great prop target on Tuesday. / Tim Heitman-Imagn Images

The Houston Astros are just 2.5 games out of first place in the AL West heading into Tuesday’s game with the Tampa Bay Rays, who are five games under .500 this season.

Tampa Bay has especially struggled at home – which for this season is the New York Yankees’ Spring Training facility (George M. Steinbrenner Field) – going 11-18 straight up.

But, the Rays have a favorable matchup as the Astros are pitching Brandon Walter in this game, who was recently called up to replace the injured Hayden Wesneski. Walter briefly pitched for the Boston Red Sox in 2023, posting a 6.26 ERA in 23.0 innings of work.

He’ll take on Rays starter Zack Littell (4.31 ERA), who is aiming to turn around a slow start to the 2025 campaign.

Let’s take a look at the odds, player props and my prediction for this AL battle. 

Astros vs. Rays Odds, Run Line and Total

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook.

Run Line

• Astros -1.5 (+142)
• Rays +1.5 (-170)

Moneyline

• Astros: -115
• Rays: -105

Total

• 9.5 (Over -108/Under -112)

Astros vs. Rays Probable Pitchers

• Astros: Brandon Walter (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
• Rays: Zack Littell (3-5, 4.31 ERA)

Astros vs. Rays How to Watch

• Date: Tuesday, May 20
• Time: 7:05 p.m. EST
• Venue: George M. Steinbrenner Field
• How to Watch (TV): FDSSUN, SCHN
• Astros record: 25-22
• Rays record: 21-26

Astros vs. Rays Best MLB Prop Bets

Astros Best MLB Prop Bet

• Isaac Paredes to Hit a Home Run (+550)

Earlier on Tuesday, I shared in SI Betting’s best home run picks column – Daily Dinger - why Isaac Paredes is worth a look in this matchup:

Houston Astros slugger Isaac Paredes is one of the rare hitters that has insane reverse splits, hitting right-handed pitching (even though he’s a righty) at a significantly better clip than he does left-handed pitching.

Against righties this season, Paredes has hit six home runs and has a slash line of .285/.397/.457. However, that dips to just .105/.190/.263 against lefties.

Luckily for Paredes and the Astros, he’s facing an extremely home-run prone right-handed pitcher on Tuesday.

Tampa Bay Rays righty Zack Littell has given up 13 home runs in nine appearances this season, posting four different games with multiple home runs allowed. 

At +550, Paredes is worth a shot in this market for a Houston team that doesn’t have an obvious bet to hit a homer tonight, especially with Yordan Alvarez out of the lineup. 

Astros vs. Rays Prediction and Pick

This pitching matchup may not be the best, especially since Walter has minimal MLB experience, but I expect the Astros to have a quick hook with him on Tuesday.

On the bright side for bettors that want to take the UNDER – such as myself – Houston has the second-best bullpen ERA (2.64) in the league and the Rays have a top-10 unit with a 3.45 bullpen ERA.

So, even if these starters struggle, there is no guarantee that we see 10 runs put up in this matchup. 

Littell has had some rough outings this season, but he’s allowed three or fewer earned runs in six straight appearances and seven of his nine outings overall.

Both of these teams have hit the UNDER a ton, with Tampa Bay going 27-18-2 and the Astros going 26-19-2. 

This total is too high between these teams, which both rank in the bottom 10 in MLB in OPS and runs scored this season. 

Pick: UNDER 9.5 (-112 at DraftKings)

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Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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