Tampa Bay Rays vs Houston Astros Picks and Predictions for Sunday, July 5, 2026

By: Cameron Ross Published 07/05/2026, 12:50 AM ET

Rays vs Astros Game Information

The Tampa Bay Rays continue a road trip Sunday for game 3 of 3 in Houston at 3:30 PM against the Houston Astros. Tampa Bay has 52 wins and 34 losses this season following the loss in Game 2 of this set on Saturday to end a lengthy winning streak. The Houston Astros are 3 games below .500 following the victory on Saturday. Stay in the action with our MLB Picks.

Rays Preview

The Tampa Bay offense has been solid all season, with a .260 batting average as the Rays have scored 388 runs on 738 hits. Tampa Bay has a .338 OBP and a .398 team slugging percentage. The Tampa Bay pitching has been the team's biggest strength with a 3.68 team ERA, but they gave up 10 runs and suffered a loss on Saturday. Yandy Diaz leads the Tampa Bay offense this season with a .325 batting average. Junior Caminero has a .291 batting average and leads the team with 26 home runs. Jonathan Aranda has a .287 batting average and leads the team with 58 RBI's this year.

Astros Preview

The Houston Astros offense has posted a .241 batting average this season as they have scored 401 runs on 728 hits. Houston has a .315 OBP and a .407 team slugging percentage. The Houston pitching has been an issue this season, with a 4.75 team ERA. Yordan Alvarez does everything for the Houston offense, leading the team with a .324 batting average, 29 home runs, and 67 RBIs.

Rays vs Astros Pitching Matchup

Griffin Jax will be on the mound Sunday for Tampa Bay, looking to get his year to 500. This season, Jax has 4 wins and 5 losses alongside a 3.45 ERA through 60 innings of action. Peter Lambert will counter for the Houston Astros on Sunday. Lambert is 6-5 this year with a 3.51 ERA through 74.1 innings of action.

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Rays vs Astros Pick

Tampa Bay is a far better team in this matchup, and it will show from early on Sunday. The Rays come into this matchup playing great baseball as of late and will have the edge on both sides of the dish. Look for Tampa Bay to keep it rolling Sunday as they close their series in Houston with a win against the Astros.

Pick: Tampa Bay Rays
Secondary: Over
Lean: Yandy Diaz Over 1.5 Bases

Final Score Prediction: Tampa Bay Rays win 9-4.

Game Written Prior to completion of game on Saturday.