The San Diego Padres (77-61) travel to face off against the Tampa Bay Rays (67-68) on Sunday, September 1st. This game will be played at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg and televised on BSSUN. The Rays are coming off a win in their previous game, while the Padres are looking to get back on track from a loss to the Rays. First pitch is set for 12:40 CT.

Padres vs. Rays Betting Prediction

• Money Line Prediction: Padres (-139)
• Over/Under Prediction: Over 7 Runs

• Padres have scored 6 or more runs in 8 of their last 15 games.
• Padres have a 7-3 record in their last 10 road games.
• Padres have won 4 out of their last 5 games against teams with a losing record.
• Padres have a 5-2 record in their last 7 games against AL East teams.
• Padres have a 40-29 record in away games this season, which is the third-best in the National League.

Padres vs Rays

Tampa Bay cruised to an easy 11-4 win over the Padres in the most recent game of this series. The Rays had a huge 2nd inning, scoring four of their eleven runs. As for the Padres, they scored their final two runs in the 7th. Heading into the game, the Rays were favored at -124 on the money line.

Shane Baz only went five innings for the Rays but gave up just two hits and two earned runs. He finished the game with five strikeouts but issued three walks. On the other side, Randy Vásquez was tagged for nine runs in just 4 1/3 innings of work for the Padres.

Tampa Bay got a huge performance from Junior Caminero off the bench, as he went 1/4 with a home run and three RBIs. Brandon Lowe also had a three-hit game and scored three times for the Rays’ offense.

San Diego is 3rd in the NL West, six games behind the Dodgers. The Padres are 77-61 overall and 26-14-5 in series this year. As the favorite, they are 48-37, and as the underdog, they are 29-24. Their run line record is 71-67, with an average run differential of +0.5 runs per game.

This season, the Padres’ games have averaged 9.1 runs, and their O/U record is 75-62. The over has hit in their last two games, and today’s O/U line of 7 runs is lower than 92.0% of their games this year.

Dylan Cease Gets The Start For The Padres

Dylan Cease will be looking to bounce back from his last outing, where he finished with a no-decision. Against the Cardinals, Cease gave up four earned runs in 4 1/3 innings of work. Looking back over his last four outings, Cease has finished with a no-decision in three of them. Cease has made 28 starts this year and has a record of 12-10 with a 3.57 ERA. This season, Cease has one complete game shutout and 14 quality starts. His ERA on the road is 4.78, compared to 3.25 at home.

Padres Offense Breakdown

San Diego’s offense has been one of the league’s best so far this season, as they are the top hitting team in the league and are also 10th in the league in runs scored (4.8 runs per game). The Padres have been even better on the road, averaging 5.1 runs per game. Overall, they are 12th in the league in home runs and have the best team slugging percentage in the league.

Manny Machado and Jurickson Profar have been the team’s top power threats this season, with Machado leading the team with 23 homers and Profar right behind him with 21. Machado has also been hot of late, going 11/33 with three homers and nine RBIs over his last eight games. Luis Arraez has been a consistent hitter for the Padres, batting .309 with four homers and 39 RBIs.

After dropping the series finale vs. the Phillies, the Rays are 4-6 in their last 10 games and are 67-68 overall, sitting in 4th place in the AL East. They trail the Yankees by 11.5 games in the division. This season, Tampa Bay has a 21-17-5 series record but has lost two straight series.

On the run line, the Rays are 67-68, with an average margin of victory of 2.7 runs in wins and 3.6 runs in losses. As the underdog, they have a 43-28 run line record, but as the favorite, they are 24-40. The over has hit in three straight games for the Rays, and their over/under record for the season is 61-68.

Ryan Pepiot Gets The Start For The Rays

Ryan Pepiot will be looking to bounce back from a rough outing as he gets the start for the Rays today. Against the Mariners on August 26th, he took the loss, giving up five earned runs in six innings of work. Out of his 20 starts, Pepiot has turned in eight quality starts and has a record of 7-6 with a 3.61 ERA. Looking at his numbers, opponents are batting .202 this year, and his WHIP is currently 1.08. Overall, he has allowed 14 homers this year, and his ERA at home is 4.37 compared to 3.76 on the road.

Rays Offense Breakdown

As a team, the Rays are averaging just 3.9 runs per game, which is 28th in the league. They have been even worse at home, averaging just 3.8 runs per game. Overall, they are 26th in home runs and are batting just .231 for the season. One positive for the Rays is that they are 11th in the league in drawing walks.

Yandy Diaz comes into the game with a team-high 59 RBIs and is batting .276 for the season. He has two homers in his last three games, going 4/10 over that stretch. Josh Lowe has also been swinging a hot bat of late, going 9/19 in his last five games, including two homers.

Padres vs Rays Prediction

Our predicted final score for this Padres and Rays matchup is 5-4 in favor of the Padres. With the Padres predicted to pick up the win and a payout of -139 on the money line, that is the direction we recommend going.

Looking at the starting pitcher’s projections, Dylan Cease is predicted to finish with seven strikeouts, which is the highest among all starters today. As for Ryan Pepiot, he is projected to finish with four strikeouts, which puts him towards the bottom of the list.

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All odds are courtesy of Action247 Sportsbook. Good luck!!

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* All odds are provided by Action247 Sportsbook and all odds subject to change.**All views expressed are my own. My picks are my own and are not a guarantee, bet at your own risk.Action247 does not warrant the accuracy of completeness of the information, text, graphics, links or other items contained within these post.