Rays vs Guardians Predictions, Odds, Schedule and Probable Pitchers for AL Wild Card Round MLB Playoffs

The MLB regular season wrapped up on Wednesday and finalized its official 2022 postseason bracket. There are 12 teams, six from each league, fighting for an opportunity to take home the World Series title.

One of the series many baseball fans have circled is a matchup between the 3-seed Cleveland Guardians and 6-seed Tampa Bay Rays. The Guardians proved a lot of doubters wrong this season, including by going 32-18 over their last 50 games — tied for the third-best record over that stretch. Success against the Rays won't be easy after Tampa Bay's pitchers combined for a 3.41 ERA this season (fourth-best in the MLB).

Rays vs Guardians TV Schedule and Start Times

Below is the full official schedule for the Rays vs Guardians AL Wild Card Round MLB Playoffs series.

Game 1: Friday, Oct. 7 at Progressive Field (ESPN - 12:07 p.m. ET)
Game 2: Saturday, Oct. 8 at Progressive Field (ESPN2 - 12:07 p.m. ET)
Game 3: Sunday, Oct. 9 at Progressive Field (ESPN- 4:07 p.m. ET) if necessary

Rays vs Guardians Betting Odds

The following MLB Playoffs odds are provided from FanDuel Sportsbook. Oddsmakers give Cleveland the edge, both in Game 1 of the series and across the entire matchup. The Guardians are listed with -124 moneyline odds in Game 1 compared to Tampa Bay's +106 odds.

For the series, the Guardians hold -128 odds to advance while the Rays maintain a +108 figure. FanDuel Sportsbook also lists some other series prop bets, including correct series score and an over/under on total games played.

Total Games: 2 Games (-110) | 3 Games (-110)
Series Betting: Guardians: 2-0 (+210) | 2-1 (+240)
Series Betting: Rays: 2-0 (+320) | 2-1 (+280)

Rays vs Guardians Probable Pitchers

Game 1

Rays: Shane McClanahan (12-8, 2.54 ERA)
Guardians: Alek Manoah (13-8, 2.88 ERA)

Game 2

Rays: Tyler Glasnow (0-0, 1.35 ERA)
Guardians: Triston McKenzie (11-11, 2.96 ERA)

Game 3

Rays: TBD
Guardians: Cal Quantrill (15-5, 3.38 ERA)

Rays vs Guardians Prediction & Pick

The Rays are a solid team, but the Guardians have gotten the better of them lately, winning five of the last seven meetings. Furthermore, Tampa Bay limped into the postseason on a five-game losing streak and even owned the 10th-worst record league wide since the start of September (14-19). The Guardians are playing with a chip on their shoulder and with their being one of the best MLB teams over the last month or so, I like their odds of making quick work here.

Final Series Prediction: Guardians win, 2-0

Devon Platana is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Devon Platana also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username PepeSilvia0. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.