ALCS Game 2 Guardians at Rays: Expert Picks ( 10/13)

Tonight is Game 2 of the ALCS between the Guardians and the Rays. Last night, Cleveland beat Tampa 7-3 to take a 1-0 series lead in the series. Guardians are now 3-0 on the road in the postseason and have scored 25 runs in 3 games on the road. They look to take a commanding 2-0 series lead tonight heading back to Cleveland. Let's dive into my MLB best bets for Tuesday, October 13th.

 

Cleveland Guardians vs Tampa Bay Rays MLB Betting Insights

 

What an awesome win last night for the Guardians. Rays come out in the bottom of the first inning and score two runs. Immediately, they are down 2-0 in the game and are facing Drew Rasmussen who nearly threw a no-hitter against the Yankees in the ALDS. It was an uphill climb to say the least, but credit to Foster Griffin for keeping the Rays at 2 runs. The Guardians bats finally got going in the 6th and 7th inning. First it was Chase DeLauter with a home run and then Patrick Bailey to tie the game at 2-2. Then with the bases loaded in the 8th inning Nathaniel Lowe came through with a single up the middle to give the Guardians a 4-2 lead and they would never look back.

After a Rays home run by Cedric Mullins in the 8th to cut it to 4-3 the Guardians got 3 insurance runs in the 9th to secure the win 7-3. Both teams have excellent bullpens, but it was the Rays in Game 1 that let them down. The Guardians racked up 14 hits yesterday with 6 of them coming from Jose Ramirez and Chase DeLauter. When your two and three hitters deliver like that you're usually going to win a lot of games.

A great win for Cleveland to open up the series, but they'll look to get greedy tonight and win both games in the Trop, while tonight almost becomes a must win for the Rays. Not ideal to go down 0-2 headed back to Cleveland.

Matchup Information — Guardians vs Rays – October 13

• Venue: Tropicana Field ( St. Petersburg, FL)

• Date: Tuesday, October 13, 2026

• First Pitch: 8:00 PM ET

• Broadcast: TBS

Guardians vs Rays Pitching Matchup

• Cleveland Guardians: LHP Parker Messick (0-1, 5.40 ERA)
• Tampa Bay Rays: RHP Freddy Peralta (0-0, 1.93 ERA)

Guardians vs Rays Betting Odds

Odds courtesy of our friends at LuckyRebel:

Run Line

• Cleveland Guardians +1.5 (-185)

• Tampa Bay Rays -1.5 (+160)

Moneyline

• Guardians +113

• Rays -135

Total

• Over 7 (+100)

• Under 7 (-120)

 

Cleveland Guardians vs Tampa Bay Rays MLB Picks

Best Bet: Rays ML (-135), Freddy Peralta Under 3.5 strikeouts (+102)  – Lucky Rebel Sportsbook

There are a couple of bets I like in Game 2 tonight between the Guardians and the Rays. The first one is Freddy Peralta Under 3.5 strikeouts. Peralta was acquired at the deadline from the Mets and has been terrific with the Rays. He had a 0.96 ERA in September, only giving up 3 ER in 28 innings pitched the entire month. Last Monday against the Yankees he went 4 2/3 and only gave up 1 ER on 3 hits. He has been awesome for Tampa and they need him to come through tonight in a pivotal game for the Rays.

Tampa's manager Kevin Cash is notorious for giving his starters a short leash. I think most of us would agree that nowadays in baseball manager's are way to quick to go pull their starting pitcher. Cash would be at the front of that. He loves to use his bullpen and isn't afraid to pull his starter at any point even if his guy is dealing. That's why in a game like this where Tampa can't afford to go down 0-2, Peralta is going to have a short hook. The Guardians had the 4th fewest strikeouts in the MLB this year. A tough team to punch out. When you combine that with Cash likely pulling Peralta at any sign of trouble I'll take the under on the strikeouts and I like the plus money.

As for who wins the game, I'm rolling with Tampa. Even though I think there is a chance that Peralta doesn't go deep in the game I think their bullpen bounces back after last night. This Cleveland offense is also due for some regression on the road. It's been amazing how good they have been. 25 runs in 3 playoff road games as I mentioned.

Left hander Parker Messick gets the start tonight for the Guardians on the other side. He had a terrific regular season going 12-9 with a 2.56 ERA. In both games against the White Sox in the ALDS he struggled. He gave up 2 ER in 4.1 innings pitched in Game 1 and then 2 earned runs in 2.1 innings pitched in Game 4. I think the Rays offense gets to him tonight and can put up some runs.

Guardians vs Rays Predictions: Rays win

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