Tampa Bay Rays vs Houston Astros Prediction, 10/13/2020 MLB Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Tampa Bay Rays vs Houston Astros
Date: Tuesday, October 13, 2020
Location: Minute Maid Park in Houston, TX
TV: TBS
Odds/Point Spread: Rays (-110) Astros (+100)
Jose Altuve and the Houston Astros (29-31, 2nd in AL West) host the Tampa Bay Rays (40-20, 1st in AL East) at Minute Maid Park on Tuesday in Game 3 of the ALCS. Tampa leads the series 2-0. The Astros open this contest at +100 while the Rays are coming in at -110. The O/U is set at 8.5. The expected starting pitchers are Ryan Yarbrough and Jose Urquidy.
Key Tampa Bay Rays Injuries
10/11/2020 Cody Reed RP Finger Expected to be out until at least Oct 19
8/29/2020 Jalen Beeks RP Elbow Expected to be out until at least Sep 1, 2021
8/29/2020 Chaz Roe RP Elbow Expected to be out until at least Feb 1, 2021
8/22/2020 Yonny Chirinos SP Elbow Expected to be out until at least Feb 1, 2022
8/13/2020 Andrew Kittredge RP Elbow Expected to be out until at least Feb 1, 2022
7/21/2020 Colin Poche RP Elbow Expected to be out until at least Sep 1, 2021
Key Houston Astros Injuries
10/11/2020 Austin Pruitt RP Elbow Expected to be out until at least Apr 1, 2021
10/7/2020 Brad Peacock RP Shoulder Out for the season
9/30/2020 Roberto Osuna RP Elbow Expected to be out until at least Feb 1, 2021
9/29/2020 Justin Verlander SP Elbow Out for the season
9/29/2020 Chris Devenski RP Elbow Out for the season
9/23/2020 Rogelio Armenteros RP Elbow Expected to be out until at least Feb 1, 2021
8/23/2020 Yordan Alvarez DH Knee Expected to be out until at least Feb 1, 2021
Useful Pitching Statistics
The Rays had a 40-20 overall record this season. Yarbrough (28-16 career mark) holds a FIP of 3.88 and he has faced 1,425 opposing batters in the majors. His earned run average is 3.95 (151 ER's allowed) and his career WHIP is 1.153. He has surrendered 315 hits (8.2 hits per 9 innings) and has 82 free passes. Yarbrough has taken the ball for 344 frames and has accounted for 289 punchouts in his pro baseball career. The bullpen has an earned run average of 3.37 and they have given up 234 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .209 against the bullpen and they've struck out 263 hitters and walked 87 batters. As a team, Tampa Bay allows 8.1 hits per nine innings while striking out 9.4 batters per nine innings. They are 3rd in the league in team earned run average at 3.56. The Rays pitchers collectively have given up 475 base hits and 209 earned runs. They have allowed 70 home runs this season, ranking them 19th in the league. Tampa Bay as a pitching staff has walked 168 batters and struck out 552. They have walked 2.9 men per 9 innings while striking out 9.4 per 9. They have a team WHIP of 1.22 and their FIP as a unit is 3.94.
Related: How to Bet Parlays
Hitting Statistics
As a team Tampa Bay is hitting .238, good for 21st in the league. The Rays hold a .425 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .328, which is good for 11th in baseball. They rank 20th in MLB with 7.8 hits per game. Brandon Lowe is hitting .269 with an on-base percentage of .362. He has 52 hits this season in 193 at bats with 37 runs batted in. He has a slugging percentage of .554 and an OPS+ of 152. Kevin Kiermaier is hitting .217 this year and he has an on-base percentage of .321. He has totaled 30 hits and he has driven in 22 men in 138 at bats. His OPS+ is 91 while his slugging percentage is at .362. The Rays have 470 hits, including 105 doubles and 80 home runs. Tampa Bay has walked 243 times so far this season and they have struck out 608 times as a unit. They have left 416 men on base and have a team OPS of .753. They score 4.82 runs per contest and have scored a total of 289 runs this year.
Useful Pitching Statistics
Houston has a 29-31 overall mark this year. So far in his pro baseball career, Urquidy has allowed 60 base knocks while he has earned 57 strikeouts in 70 frames. He has conceded a total of 27 ER's while earning a WHIP of 1.068 and being the owner of a FIP of 4.1. He has a SO/W ratio of 3.80 and he has faced 283 opposing batters thus far in his career. Urquidy (3-2 win-loss mark in his career) holds a 3.46 earned run average and has conceded 7.7 hits per 9 innings. The bullpen has an earned run average of 4.39 and they have given up 204 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .214 against the Astros bullpen. Their relievers have struck out 225 batters and walked 118 opposing hitters. As a team, Houston allows 8.1 hits per nine innings while striking out 9 batters per nine innings. They are 13th in the league in team earned run average at 4.31. The Astros pitchers as a team have surrendered 472 base knocks and 251 earned runs this season. They have given up 70 home runs this year, which ranks 20th in Major League Baseball. Houston as a staff has walked 217 hitters and struck out 526 batters. They give up a walk 3.7 times per 9 innings while they strike out 9 per 9. Their team WHIP is 1.32 while their FIP as a staff is 4.33.
Hitting Statistics
As a team, they are batting .240, good for 20th in the league. The Astros hold a .408 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .312, which is good for 22nd in baseball. They rank 17th in MLB with 8.0 hits per contest. Jose Altuve comes into this matchup batting .219 with an OBP of .286. He has 42 hits this year along with 18 RBI in 192 AB's. He maintains a slugging percentage of .344 with an OPS+ of 71. Michael Brantley is hitting .300 this season and he has an OBP of .364. He has collected 51 hits in 170 at bats while driving in 22 runs. He has an OPS+ of 126 and a slugging percentage of .476. The Astros as a unit have 478 base hits, including 103 doubles and 69 homers. Houston has walked 192 times this year and they have struck out on 440 occasions. They have had 382 men left on base and have an OPS of .720. They have scored 4.65 runs per game and totaled 279 runs this season.
Who will win tonight's Rays/Astros MLB game against the spread?
Parlays Pundit's Pick: Take the Astros (+100) and over 8.5 runs
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Additional Resources:
Houston Astros - Twitter
Tampa Bay Rays - Twitter