Tampa Bay Rays at Houston Astros

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
TB	1	2	3	1	0	0	1	0	0	8	9	0
HOU	2	0	0	2	1	0	3	0	2	10	11	1

Drew Rasmussen (7-4, 2.78) has been the steadiest arm in Tampa Bay's rotation all year, and he draws Hunter Brown (1-0, 3.68), who's still building back a full workload for Houston. First pitch was 6:10 PM CT at Daikin Park, with Brown looking to keep the Astros from getting run out of their own building on a holiday crowd.

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FINAL

Spread

ML

Total

Rays(52-34)

LWWWW

8

-1.5+178+106o7.5+117

Astros(44-47)

WLLWL

10

+1.5-182-108u7.5-120

Best BetRays -110

Postgame

Missed — Houston beat Tampa Bay outright, 10-8, with the late-inning bullpen damage undercutting the streak-momentum case.

Pregame

Tampa Bay went off the board at -105 on the moneyline, priced as the safer side behind Rasmussen and an offense that had been steamrolling everybody for two weeks. Houston's banged-up infield made the home side look like the value fade, not the play. That read didn't hold up in this particular game.

The lineup cards told part of the story before either starter threw a pitch. Chandler Simpson sat out with a finger issue, thinning an already banged-up Rays bench, while Houston is still piecing together its infield with Jeremy Pena and Carlos Correa both out. Vegas had made Houston a modest home favorite on the moneyline, but the market wasn't fully buying a Rays letdown after the year they've had.

Drew Rasmussen

(7-5)·3.26 ERA

Jun 28 vs Diamondbacks

W

6.0IP

0ER

5K

1BB

99P

07/04 Lineup

Hunter Brown

(1-0)·3.57 ERA

Jun 28 @ Tigers

ND

6.0IP

2ER

4K

2BB

103P

07/04 Lineup

Tampa Bay came in with the best record in baseball and had erased a three-game AL East deficit to the Yankees during this stretch, outscoring opponents by a wide margin along the way. None of that mattered once the Astros started stacking innings together at home.

Houston's bullpen did the heavy lifting after Brown handed things off, and a three-run seventh broke a game that Tampa Bay had led early on a three-run third. The Rays out-hit the Astros' error column with a clean scorecard of their own, but Houston tacked on two more in the ninth to put it away, 10-8.

Tampa Bay Rays

(52-34)

Jul 4L@ Astros8-10

Jul 4W@ Astros3-1

Jul 2W@ Royals5-2

Jul 1W@ Royals4-0

Jun 30W@ Royals10-4

Houston Astros

(44-47)

Jul 4Wvs Rays10-8

Jul 4Lvs Rays1-3

Jul 2Lvs Twins3-8

Jul 1Wvs Twins6-4

Jun 30Lvs Twins4-5

That loss snapped what had been a nine-game winning streak for Tampa Bay, a run that had turned a sinking AL East picture into a four-game cushion. Losing the front end of this holiday doubleheader after taking the opener 3-1 the day before makes it a split trip to Houston instead of the sweep it looked like early.

Tampa Bay Rays

(10)

• Day-To-DayChandler Simpson (LF) — Simpson (finger) is not in the Rays' starting lineup against the Astros on Saturday.07/04
• 10-Day-ILJake Fraley (RF) — Fraley (hernia) began a rehab assignment with the rookie-level Florida Complex League on Saturday, going 0-for-3 as the designated hitter.06/28
• 15-Day-ILJesse Scholtens (RP) — Scholtens (wrist) completed a 20-pitch bullpen session June 8 but is without a clear target date for a return, MLB.com reports.07/02
• 15-Day-ILSteven Matz (SP) — The Rays placed Matz on the 15-day injured list Thursday with a left ankle sprain.06/25
• 60-Day-ILEdwin Uceta (RP) — Manager Kevin Cash said Friday that Uceta (shoulder) will resume his throwing program sometime around June 29, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.06/19
• 60-Day-ILManuel Rodriguez (RP) — Manager Kevin Cash said Friday that Rodriguez (elbow) will begin throwing live batting practice June 30, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.06/19
• 60-Day-ILGavin Lux (LF) — Lux (shoulder) is scheduled to begin a rehab assignment June 29, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.06/19
• 60-Day-ILJonathan Heasley (RP) — Heasley was returned to the major-league roster and placed on the 15-day injured list Tuesday with a right elbow stress reaction.06/08
• 60-Day-ILSteven Wilson (RP) — The Rays hope Wilson (back) will be able to start bullpen sessions June 8, MLB.com reports.05/30
• 60-Day-ILRyan Pepiot (SP) — Pepiot will undergo surgery on his right hip May 13 and miss the rest of the 2026 season, Ryan Bass of Rays.tv reports.05/08

Houston Astros

(10)

• Day-To-DayRaynel Delgado (2B) — The Astros recalled Delgado from Triple-A Sugar Land on Tuesday, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports.07/02
• 10-Day-ILBraden Shewmake (SS) — Shewmake (adductor) has gone 3-for-9 with two doubles, three walks, one stolen base, three runs and one RBI over three rehab games between the rookie-level Florida Complex League and Triple-A Sugar Land.07/02
• 10-Day-ILJeremy Pena (SS) — Pena (calf) did some light running at Daikin Park on Wednesday, Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle reports.07/01
• 15-Day-ILLance McCullers Jr. (SP) — McCullers (shoulder) struck out three and allowed one earned run on four hits and one walk across four innings Wednesday in a rehab start with Triple-A Sugar Land.07/02
• 15-Day-ILKai-Wei Teng (RP) — The Astros rescinded Teng's option and placed him on the 15-day injured list Wednesday with a right knee sprain, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.07/01
• 60-Day-ILBennett Sousa (RP) — Sousa (elbow) will throw a simulated game at Daikin Park on Wednesday, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.07/03
• 60-Day-ILRonel Blanco (SP) — Blanco (elbow) struck out four and allowed three runs (two earned) on five hits and one walk across 4.1 innings Wednesday in a rehab start with Double-A Corpus Christi.07/02
• 60-Day-ILHayden Wesneski (SP) — Wesneski (elbow) began a rehab assignment at the rookie-level Florida Complex League on Tuesday, tossing three scoreless innings with one strikeout.07/01
• 60-Day-ILBrandon Walter (SP) — The Astros announced Friday that Walter (elbow) is in the midst of a throwing progression at the team's complex in West Palm Beach, Fla., Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.06/04
• 60-Day-ILCarlos Correa (SS) — Correa is scheduled to undergo surgery Monday in Houston to repair the tendon in his left ankle, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.06/02

For Houston, this one matters more than a single box score. A shortstop group reduced to fill-ins by the Correa and Pena injuries finally got a game where the offense carried the day instead of needing to survive on pitching alone.