The New York Mets and Tampa Bay Rays continue their three-game set tonight at Tropicana Field, where Freddy Peralta will face his former club less than a month after New York traded him to Tampa Bay. First pitch is scheduled for 6:40 p.m. ET.
New York opened the series with a 3-2 victory Monday night behind the best start of Robert Stock‘s major league career. The 36-year-old worked 5.1 scoreless innings, while Mark Vientos homered in his first game back from the injured list to help the Mets build a three-run lead.
Tampa Bay threatened late but could not complete the comeback, snapping a four-game winning streak. The Rays fell to 82-55 but remain atop the American League East with one of the league’s best records. They have been especially difficult to beat at Tropicana Field, where they enter Tuesday with a 46-24 record.
The Mets improved to 62-76 with Monday’s win but remain at the bottom of the National League East. This is their fourth consecutive series against a division leader following matchups with the White Sox, Brewers and Astros.
Peralta gets the opportunity to even the series against a team that expected him to anchor its rotation this season. New York acquired the two-time All-Star from Milwaukee during the offseason, but he posted a 4.99 ERA across 22 starts before being traded to Tampa Bay on August 2.
Peralta enters Tuesday’s matchup at 6-11 with a 5.11 ERA, 1.41 WHIP and 133 strikeouts across 141 innings. His recent outings have been much more encouraging, however. After a difficult Rays debut, the right-hander has recorded a 3.80 ERA over his last four starts. He delivered his best performance for Tampa Bay last week, holding Detroit scoreless on two hits over six innings while issuing no walks.
Sean Manaea will start opposite Peralta for New York. The left-hander is 4-6 with a 4.55 ERA, 1.32 WHIP and 120 strikeouts over 122.2 innings, but he has allowed at least four earned runs in three consecutive starts. Manaea surrendered six earned runs on eight hits across 5.2 innings against Milwaukee in his latest appearance.
Mets vs. Rays Odds Today
Tampa Bay enters tonight’s matchup as a slight home favorite:
Best Bet for Mets vs. Rays
Looking for more info before betting on Mets-Rays? Visit Hard Rock Bet Sportsbook‘s Stats Hub for matchup trends, team streaks and other useful insights for every game across every MLB slate. Here’s one trend that stood out for tonight’s matchup:
Rays Moneyline (-125): Tampa Bay has won each of its last six home games against National League opponents following a loss. Tampa Bay is also 46-24 at home overall and has lost consecutive games at the Trop just once since the beginning of July.
Tuesday also carries an obvious revenge element. Peralta struggled to find success after joining New York during the offseason and was traded away just over four months into his Mets tenure. Less than a month later, he gets his first chance to face the club that moved on from him. As mentioned above, the right-hander owns a 3.80 ERA across his last four starts and is coming off six scoreless innings against Detroit. He allowed only two hits in that outing while completing six innings for the second consecutive start.
This has all the ingredients for a painfully familiar Mets outcome: a talented player struggles in Queens, changes uniforms and delivers one of his best performances against his former team. With Peralta beginning to settle in and Tampa Bay looking to bounce back at home, we’ll back the Rays at home tonight.
- Best Bet: Rays Moneyline (-125)
Mets vs. Rays Betting Splits
Hard Rock Bet players are all over the Rays heading into tonight’s matchup:
- The Rays have pulled in approximately 82% of all moneyline tickets and 94.7% of the handle, while the Mets account for the remaining 18% of tickets and 5.3% of the money.
- Rays -1.5 has received approximately 62% of all run line bets and 90.4% of the handle.
- Over 7.5 is drawing approximately 84.7% of all total tickets and 85.1% of the handle.
Top 5 Most-Bet Player Props
Junior Caminero and Juan Soto headline tonight’s most-bet player props:
- Junior Caminero – Over 0.5 Hits
- Junior Caminero – Over 0.5 Home Runs
- Juan Soto – Over 0.5 Home Runs
- Sean Manaea – Over 1.5 Earned Runs
- Chandler Simpson – Over 0.5 Hits
Mets vs. Rays Game Info
- đź“Ť Where: Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, Florida
- đź“… Date: Tuesday, September 1
- ⏰ First Pitch: 6:40 PM ET
- đź“şđź’» TV/Streaming: SNY, Rays.TV, MLB.TV
- âšľ Probable Pitchers:
- Mets: Sean Manaea (4-6, 4.55 ERA)
- Rays: Freddy Peralta (6-11, 5.11 ERA)
More Ways to Bet
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