Detroit Tigers vs Tampa Bay Rays Prediction, Odds and Picks for Today, 06/21/25

The first game of the Saturday slate gets going in central Florida, and we are here with a Detroit Tigers vs Tampa Bay Rays prediction. On Friday night, these teams blew the lights out on the scoreboard, as Tampa took the win by a score of 14-8. Since the game was lopsided most of the way, neither team used any of their significant bullpen arms, and I expect that to be more of a factor on Saturday afternoon. With a hot and muggy afternoon expected in Florida, I am looking for this game to swing back in the other direction as the scoring regresses. I think the best play here is the game total under 9.

Tampa has their ace on the mound in Ryan Pepiot. Pepiot has pitched to a 3.11 ERA so far, but most importantly, he regularly works deep into games. Tampa has traditionally not allowed guys to work through the lineup a third time, but Pepiot has been too good to pull him. He will face what is likely to be something of a bullpen game for the Tigers. The long man ought to be Sawyer Gipson-Long. He has been used behind an opener, or sometimes in a piggyback situation. Regardless, the bullpens are fresh, and both teams will fully deploy their arms if this game is close. Expect this game to overcorrect from Friday’s scoring outburst.

Tigers vs Rays Prediction: Under 9 (-120) available at the time of publishing. Playable at that number.