MLB Baseball
2026-07-26 - Cleveland Guardians at Tampa Bay Rays
A Sports Betting Pick by FirstDown
United States : Major League Baseball
Sunday 26th July 2026 - Scheduled 12:15pm EST
5:15pm (British Time)
Preview
Four straight losses have dropped the Cleveland Guardians (54-52) 1.5 games behind the Chicago White Sox in the American League Central. If the season finished today, the Guardians would be one of the Wild Card teams, but there are a host of teams closing behind them and Cleveland have to still be thinking about winning the Division and avoiding worrying about all of the permutations for a Wild Card spot.
Both games in this series have been won by the Tampa Bay Rays (61-43) and that means they remain 2 games clear of the New York Yankees in the American League East.
The Rays will believe they are set to return to the post-season, but winning the Division may also come with finishing with the Number 1 Seed in the American League and that has to bring plenty of motivation every time Tampa Bay step out into the ballpark.
They will give the ball to Drew Rasmussen who has an 8-5 record and 3.28 ERA in nineteen starts this season and he has been a solid, consistent part of the Tampa Bay starting rotation.
Drew Rasmussen opened July by allowing eleven runs in a little over 7 Innings thrown, but he has bounced back by restricting the Toronto Blue Jays to a couple of runs last time out. The Rays had lost four of the previous five starts made by Rasmussen, but did get the better of the Blue Jays and the pitcher picked up the decision win.
Earlier this season, Drew Rasmussen gave up two runs in 5 Innings thrown on the road against the Cleveland Guardians and he had to absorb the decision loss in that game.
The Guardians will counter by handing the ball to Parker Messick who has an 8-5 record and 2.68 ERA in twenty starts in what is his sophomore season in the Major League.
Parker Messick looks like a pitcher that will be a key part of the Cleveland starting rotation for years to come and he looks to have recovered after hitting a wall in June. Three starts have been made in July and Parker Messick has a 1-0 record and 1.62 ERA, which will give him some confidence to take into this game against a Divisional leader.
In the series hosted by Cleveland earlier this season, Parker Messick held the Tampa Bay Rays to a single run deep into the Sixth Inning, although he did not factor into the decision.
Tampa Bay have won four of the five games played between these American League rivals in 2026.
Prediction
The momentum is with the Tampa Bay Rays, but Parker Messick may do enough to out-duel Drew Rasmussen early in this game.
If that is the case, Messick can put the Cleveland Guardians in a position where they can snap their losing run and just get back on track when it comes to chasing American League Central leaders Chicago White Sox.
The Pick :
Tampa Bay Rays 2-3 Cleveland Guardians
