Cincinnati Reds vs Tampa Bay Rays Prediction, Odds and Picks for Today, 04/20/26

The Cincinnati Reds are off to a great start in the first 22 games of the 2026 MLB season. Cincinnati enters Monday night’s matchup against Tampa Bay with a record of 14-8, and they are a perfect 7-0 in 1-run games. They are coming off a 3-game sweep of the Twins over the weekend, and are now a solid 8-2 on the road to start the new season. With the way they are rolling right now, it’s tough to go against the Reds in this matchup.

Cincinnati will send right-hander Rhett Lowder to the mound, and he is off to a decent start with a 3.52 ERA through 4 starts and 23 innings of work. He isn’t generating a ton of strikeouts, but he’s holding opponents to a .218 batting average and the Reds have won 3 of his 4 starts. The Cincinnati bullpen behind him has been rolling, as they own an MLB-best bullpen ERA of 2.31. The Rays have yet to officially name a starting pitcher, which means we will most likely see a bullpen game from Tampa Bay. The Rays rank 26th in baseball with a 5.38 ERA, which gives the Reds a significant edge when it comes to relief pitching. Ride the hot hand and back the Reds in this one.

Reds vs Rays prediction: Reds ML (+100) available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.