Brewers vs Rays Prediction, Odds & Best Bet for May 19 (Tampa Bay Batters Pounce on Houser's Struggles)

The Milwaukee Brewers (24-19) and Tampa Bay Rays (32-13) are set to collide in their first matchup of a three-game series beginning on Friday, May 19.

Brewers vs Rays Game Info

• Date: Friday, May 19, 2023
• Time: 6:40 p.m. ET
• Venue: Tropicana Field -- St. Petersburg, Florida
• Coverage: ESPN+

Both sides are hoping to return to the win column tonight. The Brewers look to bounce back following Wednesday's disappointing 3-0 loss to the lowly St. Louis Cardinals. Meanwhile, the Rays hope to avoid their third straight loss after losing 3-2 to the New York Mets less than 24 hours ago.

Brewers vs Rays Odds & Spread

• All MLB betting lines, odds and prop bets are from FanDuel Sportsbook.
• Moneyline: MIL: (+215) | TB: (-260)
• Spread: MIL: +1.5 (+102) | TB: -1.5 (-122)
• Total: 7.5 -- Over: (-118) | Under: (-104)

The Rays enter this contest as home favorites on the moneyline and spread per FanDuel Sportsbook's odds. This 6:40 p.m. ET clash also features an over/under of 7.5 runs with the Over being favored at -118 odds.

Brewers vs Rays Betting Trends

• Milwaukee is 4-2 straight up (SU) in its last six games.
• Tampa Bay is 17-3 SU in its last 20 home games.
• The total has hit the under in six of Milwaukee's last nine games against the American League.
• The total has hit the under in seven of Tampa Bay's last 10 games against Milwaukee.

Brewers vs Rays Prediction & Pick

The Brewers will have a tough time winning this one with starting pitcher Adrian Houser taking the mound. The 30-year-old veteran arm has struggled with consistency since his return from a groin injury, giving up five runs on 15 hits in 8.2 innings over two starts, tallying a 5.19 ERA along the way.

Meanwhile, the Rays' Shane McClanahan has been the complete opposite. McClanahan has pitched like an AL Cy Young candidate (+440 odds, No. 2 on FanDuel Sportsbook) thus far, pacing the MLB with a perfect 7-0 record through nine starts while also boasting a 2.34 ERA and 61 strikeouts through 50 innings.

Not only are the Brewers at a pitching disadvantage, but they also have dropped seven of their past nine road games, whereas the Rays are 17-3 SU in their last 20 home outings. With Milwaukee having been outscored 23-4 in its last two games alone, I like Tampa Bay's odds of winning.

Final Score Prediction: Rays: 6 | Brewers: 2

Brewers vs Rays Best Bet

I'm backing the Rays to cover as the 1.5-point favorites as tonight's best bet. After all, they're outscoring opponents by a whopping average of 4.4 runs whenever McClanahan takes the mound. They're also 14-8 ATS at Tropicana Field this year while the Brewers are just 11-11 ATS on the road.

Considering that the Brewers have also given up 7.7 runs in their last three outings, the Rays should win tonight by a decently sized margin.

Bet: Rays -1.5 (-122)

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.