Tampa Bay Rays vs Toronto Blue Jays Predictions, MLB Picks, Betting Tips 8/15/2020

Game: Tampa Bay Rays vs Toronto Blue Jays

Date: Saturday, August 15, 2020

Location: Sahlen Field in Buffalo, NY

TV: SUN/RSN

Odds/Point Spread: Rays (-160) Blue Jays (+148)

Sahlen Field is the venue where Cavan Biggio and the Toronto Blue Jays (6-9, 4th in AL East) will take on the Tampa Bay Rays (12-8, 2nd in AL East) on Saturday. The line on this contest has the Rays coming in at -160 and the Blue Jays are at +148. The total has been set at 8.5. The starting pitchers will be Ryan Yarbrough and Chase Anderson.

Key Tampa Bay Rays Injuries

8/13/2020 Andrew Kittredge RP Elbow Out for the season
8/12/2020 Yonny Chirinos SP Triceps Expected to be out until at least Aug 15
8/10/2020 Charlie Morton SP Shoulder Expected to be out until at least Aug 20
8/9/2020 Oliver Drake RP Biceps Expected to be out until at least Aug 19
7/21/2020 Colin Poche RP Elbow Out for the season

Key Toronto Blue Jays Injuries

8/7/2020 Trent Thornton SP Elbow Expected to be out until at least Aug 31
8/5/2020 Derek Fisher RF Quadriceps Expected to be out until at least Aug 15
8/4/2020 Elvis Luciano RP Undisclosed Expected to be out until at least Aug 24
7/30/2020 Yennsy Diaz RP Lat Expected to be out until at least Aug 15
7/28/2020 Ken Giles RP Forearm Expected to be out until at least Sep 1

Useful Pitching Statistics

The Rays have a 12-8 overall record this season. Yarbrough (27-14 win-loss mark in his career) sits with a FIP of 3.99 and he has gone up against 1,283 opposing hitters during his time in the major leagues. His ERA is 4.06 (140 ER's allowed) and his WHIP is 1.152. He has given up 280 base knocks (8.1 hits per nine innings) with 77 walks. Yarbrough has thrown 310 innings and has racked up 258 K's thus far in his career. The bullpen has an earned run average of 3.69 and they have given up 100 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .239 against the bullpen and they've struck out 108 hitters and walked 32 batters. As a team, Tampa Bay allows 9.2 hits per nine innings while striking out 9.9 batters per nine innings. They are 7th in the league in team earned run average at 3.97. The Rays pitchers collectively have given up 179 base hits and 77 earned runs. They have allowed 19 home runs this season, ranking them 23rd in the league. Tampa Bay as a pitching staff has walked 61 batters and struck out 193. They have walked 3.1 men per 9 innings while striking out 9.9 per 9. They have a team WHIP of 1.37 and their FIP as a unit is 3.51.

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Hitting Statistics

As a team Tampa Bay is hitting .246, good for 10th in the league. The Rays hold a .432 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .337, which is good for 7th in baseball. They rank 11th in MLB with 8.1 hits per game. Kevin Kiermaier is hitting .245 with an on-base percentage of .339. He has 12 hits this season in 49 at bats with 9 runs batted in. He has a slugging percentage of .327 and an OPS+ of 89. Austin Meadows is hitting .273 this year and he has an on-base percentage of .351. He has totaled 9 hits and he has driven in 4 men in 33 at bats. His OPS+ is 140 while his slugging percentage is at .515. The Rays have 162 hits, including 42 doubles and 22 home runs. Tampa Bay has walked 86 times so far this season and they have struck out 189 times as a unit. They have left 131 men on base and have a team OPS of .769. They score 5.35 runs per contest and have scored a total of 107 runs this year.

Useful Pitching Statistics

Toronto has a 6-9 overall mark this year. So far in his pro baseball career, Anderson has surrendered 801 hits while he has accumulated 722 strikeouts in 860 frames. He has given up 376 earned runs while earning a WHIP of 1.260 and a FIP of 4.6. His SO/W ratio is 2.55 and he has gone up against 3,589 batters in his pro baseball career. Anderson (53-40 career record) has earned a 3.93 ERA while giving up 8.4 hits per nine innings. The bullpen has an earned run average of 3.72 and they have given up 51 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .180 against the Blue Jays bullpen. Their relievers have struck out 78 batters and walked 34 opposing hitters. As a team, Toronto allows 6.9 hits per nine innings while striking out 9.3 batters per nine innings. They are 10th in the league in team earned run average at 4.03. The Blue Jays pitchers as a team have surrendered 103 base knocks and 60 earned runs this season. They have given up 18 home runs this year, which ranks 27th in Major League Baseball. Toronto as a staff has walked 68 hitters and struck out 138 batters. They give up a walk 4.6 times per 9 innings while they strike out 9.3 per 9. Their team WHIP is 1.28 while their FIP as a staff is 4.31.

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Hitting Statistics

As a team, they are batting .233, good for 20th in the league. The Blue Jays hold a .412 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .293, which is good for 28th in baseball. They rank 13th in MLB with 8.1 hits per contest. Cavan Biggio comes into this matchup batting .197 with an OBP of .290. He has 12 hits this year along with 8 RBI in 61 AB's. He maintains a slugging percentage of .410 with an OPS+ of 94. Bo Bichette is hitting .352 this season and he has an OBP of .386. He has collected 19 hits in 54 at bats while driving in 10 runs. He has an OPS+ of 183 and a slugging percentage of .648. The Blue Jays as a unit have 121 base hits, including 22 doubles and 23 homers. Toronto has walked 46 times this year and they have struck out on 132 occasions. They have had 100 men left on base and have an OPS of .706. They have scored 3.67 runs per game and totaled 55 runs this season.

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

Guy's Pick: Take the Rays (-160)

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