Tampa Bay Rays at Cincinnati Reds 7/8/22 - MLB Picks & Predictions

The Friday MLB schedule will get underway with an interleague matchup between the Tampa Bay Rays and the Cincinnati Reds from the Great American Ball Park. The Rays (45-37) have won five of their last six games and trail AL East Division leading New York by 14 games. On Wednesday, OF Randy Arozarena homered and drove in three runs during a 7-1 road victory against Boston.

Twenty-five year old lefty Shane McClanahan (9-3 1.74 ERA) is the frontrunner for the AL Cy Young Award. Through 98 plus innings, McClanahan leads the league in ERA, strikeouts (133), and WHIP (0.81).

The Cincinnati Reds have dropped 28 of their first 42 home games and own the worst overall record in the National League. In the first game of yesterday's doubleheader, Cincinnati went 1-for-5 with runners in scoring position and struck out 11 times during a 4-2 home loss versus Pittsburgh. In the nightcap, 3B Brandon Drury had a two-run triple to lift Cincinnati to a 5-1 home victory. 

The Reds will give the nod to twenty-nine year old righty Luis Castillo (3-4 3.09 ERA) in the series opener. Cincinnati has won Castillo’s last two starts and he has allowed just one run over his last 13 innings.