The Tampa Bay Rays and Arizona Diamondbacks will continue a series late tonight in Arizona.
Last night, the Rays took care of business, giving Tampa Bay its sixth head-to-head win against the DBacks in their last seven meetings. Can they repeat tonight? We think so, as they send a red-hot pitcher to the mound.
My Rays vs. Diamondbacks predictions break it down here, as I bring you my MLB picks when the two teams meet on Thursday, April 24th.
Rays vs Diamondbacks prediction
My Rays vs Diamondbacks best bet: Rays moneyline (+115 at bet365)
Arizona Diamondbacks starting Corbin Burnes has been a favorite in all four starts this season. In most of them, he’s been a considerable favorite, like when the 30-year-old righty took the mound in early April against the Washington Nationals and lost as a -171 favorite.
Despite what he’s been this season (and really what he was at the back half of last year for most of the time), Burnes is still being regularly priced like the 2021 Cy Young winner he once was. But that’s a market disconnect for me. I don’t think he is that type of pitcher right now, and I’m not sure he will get back there. Either way, there’s no argument that the pitcher opposing him this evening, Drew Rasmussen, has been considerably better this season. I’m backing that trend to keep going and grabbing the Tampa Bay Rays at a very attractive price to win for my best bet.
Burnes comes in today with overall bad numbers: 1.41 WHIP, 4.99 expected ERA, and a .465 expected slugging.
Not only have his actual results been tough, but the expected results haven’t provided much confidence going forward. This Rays team is well-equipped to get a few runs against him. They have been one of the better contact teams in baseball, with the sixth-lowest whiff rate in the sport. In addition, they have started to get more barrels on the ball, which is a concern for a pitcher with a barrel rate in the 8th percentile of the sport at the moment.
The real separator in this matchup is Drew Rasmussen. He’s been stellar for the Rays to start the year, and I don’t see that changing anytime soon.
Rasmussen has done mostly everything well to start the season, and that’s what it takes when one has a sub-zero ERA. That won’t last, but the matchup here looks favorable. The DBacks have more plate discipline than some in the league, but it’s still a group with an above-average chase rate. Against Rasmussen, average or just above it, is simply good enough with the way he’s pitching, and he’s backed that up already this season against a very similar swing profile team in the Atlanta Braves, holding them just four hits through five innings.
In addition to this, it’s important to contextualize who these impressive numbers have been put up against. He’s already had strong starts against the New York Yankees and Texas Rangers this season, holding the pair to a combined two earned runs in just over ten innings. That instills the belief that he can continue here. I like the Rays to take care of business behind a strong start.
Rays vs Diamondbacks same-game parlay (SGP)
Rays moneyline
Danny Jansen 1+ hit
Geraldo Perdomo 1+ hit
We’re pairing two players to get hits with our best bet.
The first of these is Danny Jansen. I like taking fliers on players against ground-ball-reliant pitchers who don’t hit into them very often. Jansen has a 19% ground-ball rate over his last ten games, giving me a slight edge on this number.
There’s a similar theory about taking Perdomo to get a hit. I spoke glowingly above about Rasmussen, and that remains true. However, he sometimes struggles when not creating the swings and misses with frustration. Perdomo should challenge him, as he doesn’t strike out.
Learn how to bet a same-game parlay with these helpful tips and strategies.
Rays vs Diamondbacks odds
Rays vs Diamondbacks live odds
Rays vs Diamondbacks opening odds
- Moneyline: Tampa Bay +119 | Arizona -120
- Run line: Tampa Bay +1.5 (-188) | Arizona -1.5 (+156)
- Over/Under: Over 8.5 | Under 8.5
Rays vs Diamondbacks trend
The Arizona Diamondbacks have hit the Run Line in 12 of their last 21 games (+3.50 Units / 14% ROI). Find more MLB betting trends for Rays vs. Diamondbacks.
How to watch Rays vs Diamondbacks and game info
| Location | Chase Field, Phoenix, AZ |
| Date | Thursday, 4-24-2025 |
| First pitch | 9:40 p.m. ET |
| TV | FanDuel Sports Network - SUN, ARID |
| Rays starting pitcher | Drew Rasmussen (1-1, 0.87 ERA) |
| Diamondbacks starting pitcher | Corbin Burnes (0-1, 4.64 ERA) |
Rays vs Diamondbacks latest injuries
Rays vs Diamondbacks weather
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