Cincinnati Reds vs Tampa Bay Rays Prediction, 4/20/2026 MLB Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Cincinnati Reds vs Tampa Bay Rays

Date: Monday, April 20, 2026

Location: Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, FL

TV: MLB.TV

Odds/Point Spread: Cincinnati (-130) Tampa Bay (+110)

The Cincinnati Reds (13-8) are headed to Tropicana Field on Monday where they will play the Tampa Bay Rays (12-8). The moneyline on this game has Cincinnati at -130 and Tampa Bay is priced at +110. The over/under is 9. The pitchers taking the mound will be Rhett Lowder and Jesse Scholtens.

Cincinnati is slugging .329 and have been called out on strikes 191 times, while taking a walk on 86 occasions. They have recorded 64 runs batted in in addition to 138 base knocks on the year, and their average at the plate is .203. The Reds have accrued 21 doubles as a unit and have smacked 21 baseballs out of the park. They have accounted for 71 runs and have an OBP of .296. As a team, the Cincinnati Reds are putting up 3.4 runs per game, which puts them at 28th in MLB.

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The Reds are sitting with a team earned run average of 3.46 so far this year (6th in the league), and the staff has struck out 165 batters. Reds pitchers have surrendered 17 home runs and 82 runs in total (7th in MLB). They have walked 93 opposing players and their FIP sits at 4.16 as a team for the season. Cincinnati has conceded 161 base hits (7.6 per 9 innings) in addition to 73 earned runs. They have a K/BB ratio of 1.77 and the pitching staff has a collective WHIP of 1.34.

Reds pitchers have gone to the mound with runners on base 27 times as well as having 34 appearances in high leverage situations. The bullpen have a total of 20 holds so far this season (2nd in the league). The Reds bullpen have earned a save percentage of 81.8% and have entered the game in 32 save situations. They have compiled 9 saves this season and have blown 2 of 11 save chances. The bullpen pitchers have inherited 37 base runners this season with 24.3% of those runners ended up scoring. The Reds have sent 80 relief pitchers to the mound on the campaign.

The Reds have converted 71.6% of baseballs in play into outs out of their 1,710 innings, which has them sitting at 7th in pro baseball. The Chicago White Sox have notched a total of 570 putouts at this point in the season, in addition to 179 assists and 10 errors. Their fielding percentage is holding at .987 which puts them in 12th in professional baseball, and have a total of 21 double plays.

Lowder has taken the hill for 53 frames and is sitting with 37 K's thus far in his career. Lowder (4-3 career record) is the owner of a FIP of 2.17 and he has faced 222 opposing hitters in the major leagues. His ERA is 2.20 (13 ER's allowed) and his WHIP is 1.222. He has given up 44 base hits (7.4 hits per 9 innings) and has had 21 free passes.

The Tampa Bay Rays have earned an OBP of .337 as well as a team batting average of .262 on the campaign. They have struck out on 148 occasions (29th in MLB) and have notched a total of 185 base knocks. Tampa Bay has tallied 17 long balls over the course of the season to go along with 94 RBIs. The Rays hold a slugging % of .385 and they are earning 5.00 runs per game (10th in MLB). They have notched 28 doubles, while getting a free base 70 times as well as scoring 100 runs.

The Tampa Bay pitching staff have surrendered 103 runs for the season while holding an ERA of 4.37 (88 earned runs relinquished). They have allowed 25 HR's and they surrender 5.12 runs per 9 innings (24th in MLB). The Rays have a WHIP of 1.270 and have a FIP of 4.52 as a staff for the season. They currently have a K/BB ratio of 7.90 (159 strikeouts against 78 walks). They come in at 5th in MLB as a staff in total hits relinquished with 152.

They sit at 13th in baseball holding a save percentage of 66.7%, and they have dispatched 68 relief pitchers onto the field so far this season. Their relievers have stepped onto the mound 30 times in high leverage situations and on 20 occasions with base runners. Sitting with 27 save situations, the Rays have 15 holds in addition to 4 blown saves. Tampa Bay has called on relievers to enter the game in 12 save opportunities and they have recorded 8 saves. Tampa Bay relievers hold an inherited score rate of 46.2% out of 26 inherited base runners.

The Tampa Bay Rays have turned 10 double plays and have a fielding rate of .973 (30th in pro baseball). The Rays have 152 assists, 19 errors and have accumulated 544 putouts on the campaign. In their 1,632 innings on the field, the Rays have a efficiency on defense of 72.5% (3rd in the majors).

Scholtens (2-10 career win-loss mark) holds a 4.84 earned run average while surrendering 10.0 hits per nine innings. He has a K/BB ratio of 2.14 and he has gone up against 451 hitters in his career. He has given up 55 earned runs while earning a WHIP of 1.466 and being the owner of a FIP of 4.8. Thus far in his career, Scholtens has surrendered 114 hits and he has 77 K's in 102 frames.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Cincinnati (-130)

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