Tampa Bay Rays vs Atlanta Braves Predictions, MLB Picks, Betting Tips 7/29/2020

Game: Tampa Bay Rays vs Atlanta Braves

Date: Wednesday, July 29, 2020

Location: Truist Park in Cumberland, GA

TV: SUN

Odds/Point Spread: Rays (+120) Braves (-140)

The Tampa Bay Rays head to Truist Park on Wednesday to take on the Atlanta Braves. The expected starting pitchers are Charlie Morton for the Rays and Mike Soroka for the Braves.

The odds for this matchup have Tampa Bay at +120 and Atlanta at -140. 

Key Tampa Bay Rays Injuries

7/25/2020 Austin Meadows RF Not Injury Related Expected to be out until at least Jul 29
7/23/2020 Randy Arozarena CF Undisclosed Expected to be out until at least Aug 5
7/21/2020 Colin Poche RP Elbow Out for the season

Key Atlanta Braves Injuries

7/28/2020 Pete Kozma SS Illness Probable for Jul 28
7/28/2020 Mark Melancon RP Back Probable for Jul 28
7/27/2020 Travis d'Arnaud C Illness Expected to be out until at least Jul 30
7/27/2020 Tyler Flowers C Illness Expected to be out until at least Jul 30
7/26/2020 Will Smith RP Illness Expected to be out until at least Aug 7
7/23/2020 Cole Hamels SP Triceps Expected to be out until at least Sep 1
7/21/2020 Phil Pfeifer RP Elbow Expected to be out until at least Sep 4
7/21/2020 Jacob Webb RP Shoulder Expected to be out until at least Sep 4
6/26/2020 Jeremy Walker RP Shoulder Expected to be out until at least Sep 1

Useful Pitching Statistics

Starting pitcher Charlie Morton had a 16-6 record with an earned run average of 3.05 and a WHIP of 1.08. He had 240 strikeouts over his 194.2 innings pitched and he gave up 154 hits. He allowed 7.1 hits per 9 innings and he had a FIP of 2.81. The bullpen had an earned run average of 3.71 and they gave up 668 base hits on the year. Teams hit .228 against the bullpen and they struck out 825 hitters while walking 262 batters. As a team, Tampa Bay allowed 7.8 hits per nine innings while striking out 9.9 batters per nine innings. They were 2nd in the league in team earned run average at 3.65. The Rays pitchers collectively gave up 1,274 base hits and 598 earned runs last year. They allowed 181 home runs last season, ranking them 30th in the league. Tampa Bay as a pitching staff walked 453 batters and struck out 1,621. They walked 2.8 men per 9 innings while striking out 9.9 per 9. They had a team WHIP of 1.17 and their FIP as a unit was 3.65.

Hitting Statistics

As a team Tampa Bay hit .254, good for 12th in the league. The Rays held a .431 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .325, which was good for 13th in baseball. They ranked 11th in MLB with 8.8 hits per game. Brandon Lowe hit .270 with an on-base percentage of .336 last year. He had 80 hits last season in 296 at bats with 51 runs batted in. He had a slugging percentage of .514 and an OPS+ of 124. Willy Adames hit .254 last year and he had an on-base percentage of .317. He totaled 135 hits and he drove in 52 men in 531 at bats. His OPS+ was 95 while his slugging percentage was at .418. The Rays had 1,427 hits last season, including 291 doubles and 217 home runs. Tampa Bay walked 542 times last year and they struck out 1,493 times as a unit. They left 1,130 men on base and had a team OPS of .757. They scored 4.75 runs per contest and scored a total of 769 runs last year.

Useful Pitching Statistics

With an earned run average of 2.68, Mike Soroka had a 13-4 record and a 1.11 WHIP. He had 142 strikeouts over the 174.2 innings he pitched. He also gave up 153 hits. He allowed 7.9 hits per nine innings and his FIP stood at 3.45. The bullpen had an earned run average of 4.21 and they gave up 559 base hits on the year. Teams hit .250 against the Braves bullpen. Their relievers struck out 598 batters and walked 243 opposing hitters. As a team, Atlanta allowed 8.8 hits per nine innings while striking out 8.6 batters per nine innings. They were 10th in the league in team earned run average at 4.19. The Braves pitchers as a team surrendered 1,421 base knocks and 675 earned runs last season. They gave up 203 home runs last year, which ranked 23rd in Major League Baseball. Atlanta as a staff walked 548 hitters and struck out 1,393 batters. They gave up a walk 3.4 times per 9 innings while they struck out 8.6 per 9. Their team WHIP was 1.36 while their FIP as a staff was 4.39.

Hitting Statistics

As a team, they batted .258, good for 9th in the league. The Braves held a .452 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .336, which was good for 7th in baseball. They ranked 10th in MLB with 8.8 hits per contest. Marcell Ozuna comes into this matchup after batting .241 with an OBP of .328 last season. He had 117 hits last year along with 89 RBI in 485 AB's. He maintained a slugging percentage of .472 with an OPS+ of 107. Dansby Swanson hit .251 last season and he had an OBP of .325. He collected 121 hits in 483 at bats while driving in 65 runs. He had an OPS+ of 89 and a slugging percentage of .422. The Braves as a unit had 1,432 base hits last season, including 277 doubles and 249 homers. Atlanta walked 619 times last year and they struck out on 1,467 occasions. They left 1,138 men on base and had an OPS of .789. They scored 5.28 runs per game and totaled 855 runs last year.

Who will win tonight's Rays/Braves MLB game against the spread?

Guy's Pick: Take the Rays (+120)

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