{"id":35134,"date":"2025-05-31T08:23:10","date_gmt":"2025-05-31T12:23:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wagertalk.com\/news\/?p=35134"},"modified":"2025-05-31T08:23:13","modified_gmt":"2025-05-31T12:23:13","slug":"astros-vs-rays-prediction-may-31","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wagertalk.com\/news\/mlb\/astros-vs-rays-prediction-may-31\/","title":{"rendered":"Astros vs Rays Prediction and Betting Preview | Saturday May 31"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The first two games of this weekend&#8217;s Astros vs Rays series have been polar opposites: 16 runs on Thursday followed by a complete-game pitchers&#8217; duel on Friday. What can we expect on Saturday? The GoldSheet team shares its thoughts on this afternoon&#8217;s American League clash in Houston.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Astros vs Rays Betting Preview<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td>Time<\/td><td>4:10pm ET \/ 1:10pm PT<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Stadium<\/td><td>Daikin Park in Houston<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Weather<\/td><td>Dome<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>MoneyLine<\/td><td>Houston -120 \/ Tampa EV<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Total<\/td><td>8.5 Runs (o -105 \/ u -115)<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>RunLine<\/td><td>Houston -1.5 (+175) \/ Tampa +1.5 (-200)<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Tampa Bay Rays<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Rays&#8217; starter Zack Littell has been someone we&#8217;ve looked to play against a few times this season. His strikeout rate has dropped from 21.5-percent to 16.2-percent. His hard-hit rate has climbed from 39.2-percent to 44.4-percent. His expected weighted on-base average (.351) is 30 points higher than his actual weighted on-base average (.321).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Tampa is playing its home games at a hitter-friendly park this season, yet the Rays&#8217; offense has struggled to find its groove. The Rays are hitting .221 against left-hand pitching this season (No. 22 in MLB) with a .295 on-base percentage (No. 21) and an 86 wRC+ (No. 15).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Houston Astros<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Houston&#8217;s offense has gotten hot in the month of May. Since May 1, the Astros are hitting .275 against right-hand pitching (No. 1 in MLB) with a .336 on-base percentage (No. 5) and a 117 wRC+ (No. 5).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Astros&#8217; current roster is hitting .294 in 72 plate appearances against Littell, led by Jose Altuve who is 6-for-10 with a walk against the Rays&#8217; starter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Astros vs Rays Prediction<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Houston&#8217;s Framber Valdez threw a complete game on Friday, so the Astros&#8217; bullpen is fully-rested for this one. Houston has gone 19-7 in its last 26 home games.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>HOUSTON ASTROS -120 ML<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"epyt-video-wrapper\"><div  style=\"display: block; margin: 0px auto;\"  id=\"_ytid_47163\"  width=\"870\" height=\"489\"  data-origwidth=\"870\" data-origheight=\"489\" data-facadesrc=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/CweJmkkBW7w?enablejsapi=1&#038;origin=https:\/\/legacy.winnersandwhiners.com&#038;autoplay=0&#038;cc_load_policy=1&#038;cc_lang_pref=&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;loop=0&#038;rel=0&#038;fs=1&#038;playsinline=0&#038;autohide=2&#038;hl=en_US&#038;theme=dark&#038;color=red&#038;controls=1&#038;disablekb=0&#038;\" class=\"__youtube_prefs__ epyt-facade  epyt-is-override  no-lazyload\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-spai-excluded=\"true\" class=\"epyt-facade-poster skip-lazy\" loading=\"lazy\"  alt=\"Boost Your Bets: Why GoldSheet Is Every Bettor\u2019s Secret Weapon\"  src=\"https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/CweJmkkBW7w\/maxresdefault.jpg\"  \/><button class=\"epyt-facade-play\" aria-label=\"Play\"><svg data-no-lazy=\"1\" height=\"100%\" version=\"1.1\" viewBox=\"0 0 68 48\" width=\"100%\"><path class=\"ytp-large-play-button-bg\" d=\"M66.52,7.74c-0.78-2.93-2.49-5.41-5.42-6.19C55.79,.13,34,0,34,0S12.21,.13,6.9,1.55 C3.97,2.33,2.27,4.81,1.48,7.74C0.06,13.05,0,24,0,24s0.06,10.95,1.48,16.26c0.78,2.93,2.49,5.41,5.42,6.19 C12.21,47.87,34,48,34,48s21.79-0.13,27.1-1.55c2.93-0.78,4.64-3.26,5.42-6.19C67.94,34.95,68,24,68,24S67.94,13.05,66.52,7.74z\" fill=\"#f00\"><\/path><path d=\"M 45,24 27,14 27,34\" fill=\"#fff\"><\/path><\/svg><\/button><\/div><\/div><span itemprop=\"video\" itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/VideoObject\"><meta itemprop=\"embedUrl\" content=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/CweJmkkBW7w\"><meta itemprop=\"name\" content=\"\"><meta itemprop=\"description\" content=\"YouTube video\"><meta itemprop=\"thumbnailUrl\" content=\"https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/CweJmkkBW7w\/0.jpg\"><meta itemprop=\"duration\" content=\"\"><meta itemprop=\"uploadDate\" content=\"\"><\/span>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Daily MLB Stat Sheet<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">GoldSheet&#8217;s daily MLB stat sheet provides marquee hitter vs pitcher matchup notes, one traditional free play, one prop play, batting stats in a variety of categories and Ralph Michaels&#8217; first inning trends sheet each morning around 9am ET \/ 6am PT. Oh yeah, we forgot to mention the price\u2026FREE! Download your copy and check out what&#8217;s inside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-buttons-is-layout-fe48e5de wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-white-color has-luminous-vivid-orange-background-color has-text-color has-background has-link-color wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wagertalk.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/MLBSaturdayMay31.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Download Saturday&#8217;s Sheet<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"366\" src=\"https:\/\/www.wagertalk.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Copy-of-GSWk1-1024x366.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-34763\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.wagertalk.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Copy-of-GSWk1-1024x366.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.wagertalk.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Copy-of-GSWk1-300x107.png 300w, https:\/\/www.wagertalk.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Copy-of-GSWk1-768x275.png 768w, https:\/\/www.wagertalk.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Copy-of-GSWk1.png 1090w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">WagerTalk Live Odds Screen<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">WagerTalk\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wagertalk.com\/odds?sport=L5&amp;cb=0.03175119851786279\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">live odds screen<\/a> features up-to-the-minute lines from a variety of offshore and domestic sports books. Track the moneylines, runlines, totals and betting percentages for every MLB game this summer, including tonight&#8217;s Astros vs Rays contest. Find <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wagertalk.com\/free-sports-picks\/mlb\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">free MLB picks<\/a> every day through out the season on our free picks pages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>**************************************************<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Looking for more free sports picks and sports betting tips?<\/span> Go beyond the anytime touchdown scorer picks!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><strong>Latest Betting Odds and Public Action: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/wt.buzz\/odds\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Vegas lines<\/a> updated in real time, including who the public is betting on<\/span> and anytime touchdown scorer odds.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Last Minute Handicapping Advice<\/strong><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">: Check out our extensive library of <\/span><a style=\"font-size: 12pt;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wagertalk.com\/sports-betting-guide\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">handicapping tips<\/a><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"> and advice from professional Vegas handicappers (we also recommend taking the time to look over our <\/span><a style=\"font-size: 12pt;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wagertalk.com\/videos\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">sports betting tips video library<\/a><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">)<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Want an expert opinion?<\/strong><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"> Check out the latest <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wagertalk.com\/free-sports-picks\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Free Sports Picks<\/a><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"> and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wagertalk.com\/picks\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Best Bets<\/a><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"> from our team of expert sports handicappers.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Make sure to bookmark all the above!<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The first two games of this weekend&#8217;s Astros vs Rays series have been polar opposites: 16 runs on Thursday followed by a complete-game pitchers&#8217; duel on Friday. What can we expect on Saturday? The GoldSheet team shares its thoughts on this afternoon&#8217;s American League clash in Houston. Astros vs Rays Betting Preview Time 4:10pm ET [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":11390,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[6,40,4,708,727,709,39],"class_list":["post-35134","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb","tag-baseball","tag-houston-astros","tag-mlb","tag-mlb-odds","tag-mlb-picks","tag-mlb-predictions","tag-tampa-bay-rays"],"basic_html":"\n<p>The first two games of this weekend's Astros vs Rays series have been polar opposites: 16 runs on Thursday followed by a complete-game pitchers' duel on Friday. What can we expect on Saturday? The GoldSheet team shares its thoughts on this afternoon's American League clash in Houston.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Astros vs Rays Betting Preview<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td>Time<\/td><td>4:10pm ET \/ 1:10pm PT<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Stadium<\/td><td>Daikin Park in Houston<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Weather<\/td><td>Dome<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>MoneyLine<\/td><td>Houston -120 \/ Tampa EV<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Total<\/td><td>8.5 Runs (o -105 \/ u -115)<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>RunLine<\/td><td>Houston -1.5 (+175) \/ Tampa +1.5 (-200)<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Tampa Bay Rays<\/h3>\n\n\n\n\n\n<p>Rays' starter Zack Littell has been someone we've looked to play against a few times this season. His strikeout rate has dropped from 21.5-percent to 16.2-percent. His hard-hit rate has climbed from 39.2-percent to 44.4-percent. His expected weighted on-base average (.351) is 30 points higher than his actual weighted on-base average (.321).<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n<p>Tampa is playing its home games at a hitter-friendly park this season, yet the Rays' offense has struggled to find its groove. The Rays are hitting .221 against left-hand pitching this season (No. 22 in MLB) with a .295 on-base percentage (No. 21) and an 86 wRC+ (No. 15).<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Houston Astros<\/h3>\n\n\n\n\n\n<p>Houston's offense has gotten hot in the month of May. Since May 1, the Astros are hitting .275 against right-hand pitching (No. 1 in MLB) with a .336 on-base percentage (No. 5) and a 117 wRC+ (No. 5).<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n<p>The Astros' current roster is hitting .294 in 72 plate appearances against Littell, led by Jose Altuve who is 6-for-10 with a walk against the Rays' starter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Astros vs Rays Prediction<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\n<p>Houston's Framber Valdez threw a complete game on Friday, so the Astros' bullpen is fully-rested for this one. Houston has gone 19-7 in its last 26 home games.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n<p><strong>HOUSTON ASTROS -120 ML<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n<iframe src='https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/CweJmkkBW7w?origin=https:\/\/www.wagertalk.com'><\/iframe>\n\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Daily MLB Stat Sheet<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\n<p>GoldSheet's daily MLB stat sheet provides marquee hitter vs pitcher matchup notes, one traditional free play, one prop play, batting stats in a variety of categories and Ralph Michaels' first inning trends sheet each morning around 9am ET \/ 6am PT. Oh yeah, we forgot to mention the price\u2026FREE! Download your copy and check out what's inside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img src=\"https:\/\/www.wagertalk.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Copy-of-GSWk1-1024x366.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-34763\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">WagerTalk Live Odds Screen<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\n<p>WagerTalk\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wagertalk.com\/odds?sport=L5&amp;cb=0.03175119851786279\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">live odds screen<\/a> features up-to-the-minute lines from a variety of offshore and domestic sports books. Track the moneylines, runlines, totals and betting percentages for every MLB game this summer, including tonight's Astros vs Rays contest. Find <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wagertalk.com\/free-sports-picks\/mlb\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">free MLB picks<\/a> every day through out the season on our free picks pages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>**************************************************<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n<p><strong><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Looking for more free sports picks and sports betting tips?<\/span> Go beyond the anytime touchdown scorer picks!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n\n\n\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><em>Make sure to bookmark all the above!<\/em><\/p>\n","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wagertalk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35134","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wagertalk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wagertalk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wagertalk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wagertalk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35134"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.wagertalk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35134\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35153,"href":"https:\/\/www.wagertalk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35134\/revisions\/35153"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wagertalk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11390"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wagertalk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35134"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wagertalk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35134"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wagertalk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35134"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}