{"id":434575,"date":"2026-07-05T03:40:04","date_gmt":"2026-07-05T07:40:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/evanalytics.com\/articles\/uncategorized\/rays-vs-astros-best-bets-and-expert-picks-sunday-july-05-2026\/"},"modified":"2026-07-05T07:17:03","modified_gmt":"2026-07-05T11:17:03","slug":"rays-vs-astros-best-bets-and-expert-picks-sunday-july-05-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/evanalytics.com\/articles\/mlb-game-previews\/rays-vs-astros-best-bets-and-expert-picks-sunday-july-05-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Rays vs Astros Best Bets and Expert Picks &#8211; Sunday July 05, 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"eva_article_wrap\">\n<div class=\"eva_team_logos\">\n<div class=\"eva_away_team\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/evanalytics.com\/images\/mlb\/TB.png\" alt=\"Tampa Bay Rays logo\" \/><\/p>\n<h4>Tampa Bay Rays<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"eva_matchup_symbol\">@<\/div>\n<div class=\"eva_home_team\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/evanalytics.com\/images\/mlb\/HOU.png\" alt=\"Houston Astros logo\" \/><\/p>\n<h4>Houston Astros<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"eva_odds\"><span>-130<\/span><span>O\/U: 8.5<br \/>(-110\/-110)<\/span><span>+110<\/span><\/div>\n<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"margin: 3rem 0 0 0;\">Tampa Bay Rays Insights<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<div style=\"display: block; margin: 0.75rem 0;\"><strong>Griffin Jax &#8211; Over\/Under Pitching Outs<\/strong><\/div>\n<div style=\"display: block; margin: 0.25rem 0;\">Tallying 74.4 adjusted pitches per outing this year on average, Griffin Jax falls in the 5th percentile.<\/div>\n<div style=\"display: block; margin: 0.25rem 0 1.5rem;\"><small><em><strong>Explain:<\/strong> Pitchers who average more pitches per game are more likely to go deeper into games and record more outs.<\/em><\/small><\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div style=\"display: block; margin: 0.75rem 0;\"><strong>Victor Mesa Jr. &#8211; Over\/Under Hits<\/strong><\/div>\n<div style=\"display: block; margin: 0.25rem 0;\">Victor Mesa Jr. is projected to hit 4th in the lineup today, which would be an upgrade from his 78% rate of hitting in the bottom-half of the lineup this year.<\/div>\n<div style=\"display: block; margin: 0.25rem 0 1.5rem;\"><small><em><strong>Explain:<\/strong> The higher in the order a player bats, the more plate appearances he will get and the more opportunities he will get to hit the Over for every market.  A player who hits higher in the order than he normally does may provide extra value opportunity since the market may be based on him hitting lower.<\/em><\/small><\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div style=\"display: block; margin: 0.75rem 0;\"><strong>Yandy Diaz &#8211; Over\/Under Total Bases<\/strong><\/div>\n<div style=\"display: block; margin: 0.25rem 0;\">Yandy Diaz has a 100th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (43.3%) and will be challenged by the game&#8217;s 9th-deepest RF fences in today&#8217;s matchup.<\/div>\n<div style=\"display: block; margin: 0.25rem 0 1.5rem;\"><small><em><strong>Explain:<\/strong> This player&#8217;s skill set does not match up particularly well with the park he&#8217;s in today, which may lead to worse-than-usual performance.<\/em><\/small><\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3 style=\"margin: 3rem 0 0 0;\">Houston Astros Insights<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<div style=\"display: block; margin: 0.75rem 0;\"><strong>Peter Lambert &#8211; Over\/Under Strikeouts<\/strong><\/div>\n<div style=\"display: block; margin: 0.25rem 0;\">Peter Lambert has a reverse platoon split and has the benefit of facing 7 opposite-handed hitters in this matchup.<\/div>\n<div style=\"display: block; margin: 0.25rem 0 1.5rem;\"><small><em><strong>Explain:<\/strong> A pitcher with a reverse platoon split will perform better against opposite-handed hitters (i.e. a right-handed pitcher will be better against a left-handed hitter). Holding this advantage against several hitters can have a huge impact on whether a pitcher will perform well or struggle on any given day.<\/em><\/small><\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div style=\"display: block; margin: 0.75rem 0;\"><strong>Yordan Alvarez &#8211; Over\/Under Total Bases<\/strong><\/div>\n<div style=\"display: block; margin: 0.25rem 0;\">Yordan Alvarez has been hot lately, raising his seasonal exit velocity of 94.4-mph to 100.2-mph in the last week.<\/div>\n<div style=\"display: block; margin: 0.25rem 0 1.5rem;\"><small><em><strong>Explain:<\/strong> Hitting the ball hard increases the chances of either a home run or the ball landing in fair territory for a hit before a fielder can get to it.<\/em><\/small><\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div style=\"display: block; margin: 0.75rem 0;\"><strong><\/strong><\/div>\n<div style=\"display: block; margin: 0.25rem 0;\">Collectively, Houston Astros batters have not performed well when assessing hitting balls in the launch angle band that tends to optimize home runs (between 23\u00b0 and 34\u00b0), placing 8th-worst in the majors.<\/div>\n<div style=\"display: block; margin: 0.25rem 0 1.5rem;\"><small><em><strong>Explain:<\/strong> Balls that are hit too low can&#8217;t clear the fences, and balls that are hit too high generally don&#8217;t go far enough and are easy pop flies, but balls hit between 23\u00b0 and 34\u00b0 are far more likely to become home runs.<\/em><\/small><\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3 style=\"margin: 3rem 0 0 0;\">Betting Trends<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<div style=\"display: block; margin: 0.75rem 0;\"><strong>Houston Astros &#8211; Over\/Under 1st Five Innings (F5) Team Total<\/strong><\/div>\n<div style=\"display: block; margin: 0.25rem 0 1.5rem;\">The Houston Astros have hit the 1st Five Innings (F5) Team Total Under in 7 of their last 10 games at home (+3.90 Units \/ 31% ROI)<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div style=\"display: block; margin: 0.75rem 0;\"><strong>Tampa Bay Rays &#8211; 1st Five Innings (F5) Moneyline<\/strong><\/div>\n<div style=\"display: block; margin: 0.25rem 0 1.5rem;\">The Tampa Bay Rays have hit the 1st Five Innings (F5) Moneyline in 9 of their last 10 games (+9.00 Units \/ 62% ROI)<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div style=\"display: block; margin: 0.75rem 0;\"><strong>Yordan Alvarez &#8211; Over\/Under 0.5 Walks (-110\/-120)<\/strong><\/div>\n<div style=\"display: block; margin: 0.25rem 0 1.5rem;\">Yordan Alvarez has hit the Walks Over in 14 of his last 25 games at home (+3.30 Units \/ 12% ROI)<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div>\n<form><input type=\"hidden\" id=\"ga-page-group\" name=\"ga-page-group\" value=\"GAME PREVIEW\"><input type=\"hidden\" id=\"ga-sport\" name=\"ga-sport\" \"value=\"mlb\"><input type=\"hidden\" id=\"ga-title-id\" name=\"ga-title-id\"value=\"2.3.1\"><input type=\"hidden\" id=\"ga-title-group\" name=\"ga-title-group\" value=\"BETTING\"><input type=\"hidden\" id=\"ga-title-cta\" name=\"ga-title-cta\" value=\"0\"><\/form>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Tampa Bay Rays @ Houston Astros -130O\/U: 8.5(-110\/-110)+110 Tampa Bay Rays Insights Griffin Jax &#8211; Over\/Under Pitching Outs Tallying 74.4 adjusted pitches per outing this year on average, Griffin Jax&hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":434576,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[283,286,287,289,288,284,315,285,1026,29,73,282,1092,281,1163,25,163],"class_list":["post-434575","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb-game-previews","tag-bets","tag-betting-guide","tag-betting-line","tag-betting-odds","tag-betting-tips","tag-betting-trends","tag-cedric-mullins","tag-expert-picks","tag-griffin-jax","tag-houston-astros","tag-mlb","tag-odds","tag-peter-lambert","tag-picks","tag-ryan-vilade","tag-tampa-bay-rays","tag-yordan-alvarez"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Rays vs Astros Best Bets and Expert Picks - Sunday July 05, 2026 - WriteNow\u2122 by EV Analytics<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Explore our expert betting tips and picks for Tampa Bay Rays vs. Houston Astros on July 5, 2026. We identify the best bets, odds, and betting trends in our comprehensive match betting guide!\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/evanalytics.com\/articles\/mlb-game-previews\/rays-vs-astros-best-bets-and-expert-picks-sunday-july-05-2026\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Rays vs Astros Best Bets and Expert Picks - Sunday July 05, 2026 - WriteNow\u2122 by EV Analytics\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Explore our expert betting tips and picks for Tampa Bay Rays vs. Houston Astros on July 5, 2026. We identify the best bets, odds, and betting trends in our comprehensive match betting guide!\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/evanalytics.com\/articles\/mlb-game-previews\/rays-vs-astros-best-bets-and-expert-picks-sunday-july-05-2026\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"WriteNow\u2122 by EV Analytics\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-05T07:40:04+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-07-05T11:17:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/evanalytics.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/mlb\/default\/20260705_hou_tb.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"400\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"EV Analytics\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"EV Analytics\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"NewsArticle\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/evanalytics.com\\\/articles\\\/mlb-game-previews\\\/rays-vs-astros-best-bets-and-expert-picks-sunday-july-05-2026\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/evanalytics.com\\\/articles\\\/mlb-game-previews\\\/rays-vs-astros-best-bets-and-expert-picks-sunday-july-05-2026\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"EV Analytics\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/evanalytics.com\\\/articles\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b72fb0db8d3ab3531164d4f9fa692c41\"},\"headline\":\"Rays vs Astros Best Bets and Expert Picks &#8211; Sunday July 05, 2026\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-05T07:40:04+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-07-05T11:17:03+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/evanalytics.com\\\/articles\\\/mlb-game-previews\\\/rays-vs-astros-best-bets-and-expert-picks-sunday-july-05-2026\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":507,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/evanalytics.com\\\/articles\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/evanalytics.com\\\/articles\\\/mlb-game-previews\\\/rays-vs-astros-best-bets-and-expert-picks-sunday-july-05-2026\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/evanalytics.com\\\/articles\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/mlb\\\/default\\\/20260705_hou_tb.png\",\"keywords\":[\"Bets\",\"Betting Guide\",\"Betting Line\",\"Betting Odds\",\"Betting Tips\",\"Betting Trends\",\"Cedric Mullins\",\"Expert Picks\",\"Griffin Jax\",\"Houston Astros\",\"MLB\",\"Odds\",\"Peter Lambert\",\"Picks\",\"Ryan Vilade\",\"Tampa Bay Rays\",\"Yordan Alvarez\"],\"articleSection\":[\"MLB Game Previews\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"copyrightYear\":\"2026\",\"copyrightHolder\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/evanalytics.com\\\/articles\\\/#organization\"}},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/evanalytics.com\\\/articles\\\/mlb-game-previews\\\/rays-vs-astros-best-bets-and-expert-picks-sunday-july-05-2026\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/evanalytics.com\\\/articles\\\/mlb-game-previews\\\/rays-vs-astros-best-bets-and-expert-picks-sunday-july-05-2026\\\/\",\"name\":\"Rays vs Astros Best Bets and Expert Picks - Sunday July 05, 2026 - WriteNow\u2122 by EV Analytics\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/evanalytics.com\\\/articles\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/evanalytics.com\\\/articles\\\/mlb-game-previews\\\/rays-vs-astros-best-bets-and-expert-picks-sunday-july-05-2026\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/evanalytics.com\\\/articles\\\/mlb-game-previews\\\/rays-vs-astros-best-bets-and-expert-picks-sunday-july-05-2026\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/evanalytics.com\\\/articles\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/mlb\\\/default\\\/20260705_hou_tb.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-05T07:40:04+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-07-05T11:17:03+00:00\",\"description\":\"Explore our expert betting tips and picks for Tampa Bay Rays vs. Houston Astros on July 5, 2026. We identify the best bets, odds, and betting trends in our comprehensive match betting guide!\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/evanalytics.com\\\/articles\\\/mlb-game-previews\\\/rays-vs-astros-best-bets-and-expert-picks-sunday-july-05-2026\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/evanalytics.com\\\/articles\\\/mlb-game-previews\\\/rays-vs-astros-best-bets-and-expert-picks-sunday-july-05-2026\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/evanalytics.com\\\/articles\\\/mlb-game-previews\\\/rays-vs-astros-best-bets-and-expert-picks-sunday-july-05-2026\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/evanalytics.com\\\/articles\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/mlb\\\/default\\\/20260705_hou_tb.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/evanalytics.com\\\/articles\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/mlb\\\/default\\\/20260705_hou_tb.png\",\"width\":800,\"height\":400},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/evanalytics.com\\\/articles\\\/mlb-game-previews\\\/rays-vs-astros-best-bets-and-expert-picks-sunday-july-05-2026\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/evanalytics.com\\\/articles\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Rays vs Astros Best Bets and Expert Picks &#8211; Sunday July 05, 2026\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/evanalytics.com\\\/articles\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/evanalytics.com\\\/articles\\\/\",\"name\":\"EV Analytics - WriteNow\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/evanalytics.com\\\/articles\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/evanalytics.com\\\/articles\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/evanalytics.com\\\/articles\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"EV Analytics\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/evanalytics.com\\\/articles\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/evanalytics.com\\\/articles\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"\",\"contentUrl\":\"\",\"caption\":\"EV Analytics\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/evanalytics.com\\\/articles\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/evanalytics.com\\\/articles\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b72fb0db8d3ab3531164d4f9fa692c41\",\"name\":\"EV Analytics\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/f660ab912ec121d1b1e928a0bb4bc61b15f5ad44d5efdc4e1c92a25e99b8e44a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/f660ab912ec121d1b1e928a0bb4bc61b15f5ad44d5efdc4e1c92a25e99b8e44a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/f660ab912ec121d1b1e928a0bb4bc61b15f5ad44d5efdc4e1c92a25e99b8e44a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"EV Analytics\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/evanalytics.com\\\/articles\\\/author\\\/evanalytics\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Rays vs Astros Best Bets and Expert Picks - Sunday July 05, 2026 - WriteNow\u2122 by EV Analytics","description":"Explore our expert betting tips and picks for Tampa Bay Rays vs. Houston Astros on July 5, 2026. We identify the best bets, odds, and betting trends in our comprehensive match betting guide!","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/evanalytics.com\/articles\/mlb-game-previews\/rays-vs-astros-best-bets-and-expert-picks-sunday-july-05-2026\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Rays vs Astros Best Bets and Expert Picks - Sunday July 05, 2026 - WriteNow\u2122 by EV Analytics","og_description":"Explore our expert betting tips and picks for Tampa Bay Rays vs. Houston Astros on July 5, 2026. We identify the best bets, odds, and betting trends in our comprehensive match betting guide!","og_url":"https:\/\/evanalytics.com\/articles\/mlb-game-previews\/rays-vs-astros-best-bets-and-expert-picks-sunday-july-05-2026\/","og_site_name":"WriteNow\u2122 by EV Analytics","article_published_time":"2026-07-05T07:40:04+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-07-05T11:17:03+00:00","og_image":[{"width":800,"height":400,"url":"https:\/\/evanalytics.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/mlb\/default\/20260705_hou_tb.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"EV Analytics","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"EV Analytics","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https:\/\/evanalytics.com\/articles\/mlb-game-previews\/rays-vs-astros-best-bets-and-expert-picks-sunday-july-05-2026\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/evanalytics.com\/articles\/mlb-game-previews\/rays-vs-astros-best-bets-and-expert-picks-sunday-july-05-2026\/"},"author":{"name":"EV Analytics","@id":"https:\/\/evanalytics.com\/articles\/#\/schema\/person\/b72fb0db8d3ab3531164d4f9fa692c41"},"headline":"Rays vs Astros Best Bets and Expert Picks &#8211; Sunday July 05, 2026","datePublished":"2026-07-05T07:40:04+00:00","dateModified":"2026-07-05T11:17:03+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/evanalytics.com\/articles\/mlb-game-previews\/rays-vs-astros-best-bets-and-expert-picks-sunday-july-05-2026\/"},"wordCount":507,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/evanalytics.com\/articles\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/evanalytics.com\/articles\/mlb-game-previews\/rays-vs-astros-best-bets-and-expert-picks-sunday-july-05-2026\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/evanalytics.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/mlb\/default\/20260705_hou_tb.png","keywords":["Bets","Betting Guide","Betting Line","Betting Odds","Betting Tips","Betting Trends","Cedric Mullins","Expert Picks","Griffin Jax","Houston Astros","MLB","Odds","Peter Lambert","Picks","Ryan Vilade","Tampa Bay Rays","Yordan Alvarez"],"articleSection":["MLB Game Previews"],"inLanguage":"en-US","copyrightYear":"2026","copyrightHolder":{"@id":"https:\/\/evanalytics.com\/articles\/#organization"}},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/evanalytics.com\/articles\/mlb-game-previews\/rays-vs-astros-best-bets-and-expert-picks-sunday-july-05-2026\/","url":"https:\/\/evanalytics.com\/articles\/mlb-game-previews\/rays-vs-astros-best-bets-and-expert-picks-sunday-july-05-2026\/","name":"Rays vs Astros Best Bets and Expert Picks - Sunday July 05, 2026 - WriteNow\u2122 by EV Analytics","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/evanalytics.com\/articles\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/evanalytics.com\/articles\/mlb-game-previews\/rays-vs-astros-best-bets-and-expert-picks-sunday-july-05-2026\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/evanalytics.com\/articles\/mlb-game-previews\/rays-vs-astros-best-bets-and-expert-picks-sunday-july-05-2026\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/evanalytics.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/mlb\/default\/20260705_hou_tb.png","datePublished":"2026-07-05T07:40:04+00:00","dateModified":"2026-07-05T11:17:03+00:00","description":"Explore our expert betting tips and picks for Tampa Bay Rays vs. Houston Astros on July 5, 2026. We identify the best bets, odds, and betting trends in our comprehensive match betting guide!","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/evanalytics.com\/articles\/mlb-game-previews\/rays-vs-astros-best-bets-and-expert-picks-sunday-july-05-2026\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/evanalytics.com\/articles\/mlb-game-previews\/rays-vs-astros-best-bets-and-expert-picks-sunday-july-05-2026\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/evanalytics.com\/articles\/mlb-game-previews\/rays-vs-astros-best-bets-and-expert-picks-sunday-july-05-2026\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/evanalytics.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/mlb\/default\/20260705_hou_tb.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/evanalytics.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/mlb\/default\/20260705_hou_tb.png","width":800,"height":400},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/evanalytics.com\/articles\/mlb-game-previews\/rays-vs-astros-best-bets-and-expert-picks-sunday-july-05-2026\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/evanalytics.com\/articles\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Rays vs Astros Best Bets and Expert Picks &#8211; Sunday July 05, 2026"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/evanalytics.com\/articles\/#website","url":"https:\/\/evanalytics.com\/articles\/","name":"EV Analytics - WriteNow","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/evanalytics.com\/articles\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/evanalytics.com\/articles\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/evanalytics.com\/articles\/#organization","name":"EV Analytics","url":"https:\/\/evanalytics.com\/articles\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/evanalytics.com\/articles\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"","contentUrl":"","caption":"EV Analytics"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/evanalytics.com\/articles\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/evanalytics.com\/articles\/#\/schema\/person\/b72fb0db8d3ab3531164d4f9fa692c41","name":"EV Analytics","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f660ab912ec121d1b1e928a0bb4bc61b15f5ad44d5efdc4e1c92a25e99b8e44a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f660ab912ec121d1b1e928a0bb4bc61b15f5ad44d5efdc4e1c92a25e99b8e44a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f660ab912ec121d1b1e928a0bb4bc61b15f5ad44d5efdc4e1c92a25e99b8e44a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"EV Analytics"},"url":"https:\/\/evanalytics.com\/articles\/author\/evanalytics\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/evanalytics.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/434575","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/evanalytics.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/evanalytics.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/evanalytics.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/evanalytics.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=434575"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/evanalytics.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/434575\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":434835,"href":"https:\/\/evanalytics.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/434575\/revisions\/434835"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/evanalytics.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/434576"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/evanalytics.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=434575"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/evanalytics.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=434575"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/evanalytics.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=434575"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}