Cleveland Guardians vs Tampa Bay Rays Prediction, 9/5/2025 MLB Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Cleveland Guardians vs Tampa Bay Rays

Date: Friday, September 5, 2025

Location: George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, FL

TV: FanDuel Sports Network Sun

Odds/Point Spread: Cleveland (+162) Tampa Bay (-196)

The Tampa Bay Rays (70-69) welcome the Cleveland Guardians (69-69) at George M. Steinbrenner Field on Friday. The odds on this game have Cleveland at +162 while Tampa Bay opens at -196. The betting total is set at 8. The pitchers who are expected to start are Gavin Williams and Ian Seymour.

As a squad, the Cleveland Guardians are compiling 3.9 runs per game, which puts them at 27th in baseball. They have earned 538 runs while having a team OBP of .294. The Guardians have accumulated 198 doubles as a team and have hit 143 balls out of the stadium. They have tallied 517 runs batted in and 1,012 base knocks for the season, while their batting average is sitting at .224. Cleveland owns a slugging percentage of .369 and have been called out on strikes 1,135 times, while drawing a walk on 419 occasions.

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The Guardians have a team earned run average of 3.97 so far this season (16th in the league), and they have rung up 1,149 hitters. Guardians pitchers have given up 152 home runs and also 592 runs in total (11th in the league). Their pitching staff has walked 477 opposing batters and their FIP comes in at 4.16 as a team on the year. Cleveland has surrendered 1,140 base hits (8.4 per 9 innings) as well as 541 earned runs. They have a strikeout to walk ratio of 2.41 and their pitching staff has earned a collective WHIP of 1.32.

Guardians relief pitchers have entered the game with opponents on base 129 times in addition to having 159 appearances in high leverage situations. The bullpen have a total of 92 holds so far this year (5th in the league). The Guardians relievers have accumulated a save rate of 68.4% and have entered the game in 152 save situations. They have tallied 39 saves over the course of the season and have blown 18 of their 57 save chances. The bullpen pitchers have inherited 181 runners for the season with 33.1% of them earned a run for their team. The Guardians have sent 458 relief pitchers to the mound for the year.

The Guardians have converted 69.3% of balls hit into play into outs in their 11,034 innings on the field, ranking them 19th in MLB. The Cincinnati Reds have notched a total of 3,678 putouts over the course of the season, as well as 1,126 assists and 86 errors. Their fielding rate sits at .982 which has them sitting 27th in MLB, and have a total of 102 double plays.

Williams has taken the hill for 301 innings and has earned 303 strikeouts in his MLB career. Williams (15-20 career record) holds a FIP of 3.62 and he has faced 1,283 hitters in the majors. His ERA is 3.68 (123 earned runs allowed) and his WHIP is 1.301. He has given up 250 base hits (7.5 hits per nine innings) and has 142 free passes.

Tampa Bay has 157 home runs so far this year to go along with 604 RBIs. They have tallied 212 doubles, while taking a walk 399 times and putting up 636 runs. The Tampa Bay Rays have a team OBP of .314 and a batting average of .253 this year. The Rays have a team slugging % of .404 and they score 4.58 runs per outing (11th in the league). They have been called out on strikes on 1,189 instances (13th in the league) and have a total of 1,187 base hits.

The Tampa Bay pitching staff have conceded 575 runs this season while having a team ERA of 3.89 (532 earned runs surrendered). They have surrendered 182 dingers and they surrender 4.20 runs per 9 innings (9th in MLB). The Rays hold a team WHIP of 1.209 and have a FIP of 4.21 as a unit on the campaign. Their K/BB ratio comes in at 8.80 (1,203 strikeouts against 398 free passes). They come in at 6th in the league as a pitching staff in total hits conceded with 1,090.

Tampa Bay has called on relief pitchers to enter the contest in 55 save opportunities and they have walked away with 32 saves. They rank 25th in the league holding a save rate of 58.2%, and they have sent 436 bullpen pitchers onto the diamond on the campaign. Their relievers have stepped onto the hill 131 times in high leverage situations and also on 96 occasions with runners on. Tampa Bay relief pitchers have an inherited score rate of 31.5% of 143 inherited base runners. Sitting with 135 save situations, the Rays have recorded 78 holds and 23 blown saves.

The Tampa Bay Rays have gotten 128 double plays and hold a fielding percentage of .987 (9th in pro baseball). The Rays have racked up 1,225 assists, 64 errors and have earned a total of 3,694 putouts so far this year. In their 11,082 innings on the diamond, the Rays hold a defensive efficiency of 70.9% (4th in pro baseball).

Seymour (3-0 career win-loss record) has a 2.99 earned run average while surrendering 6.5 hits per 9 innings. He has a K/BB ratio of 4.20 and he has faced 135 hitters so far in his MLB career. He has conceded a total of 11 earned runs while earning a WHIP of 1.027 and a FIP of 2.9. In his pro baseball career, Seymour has allowed 24 base knocks while he has accumulated 42 strikeouts in 33 innings.

Who will win tonight's MLB game against the spread or moneyline?

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Tampa Bay (-196)

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