Tampa Bay Rays vs Toronto Blue Jays Predictions, MLB Picks, Betting Tips 8/16/2020

Game: Tampa Bay Rays vs Toronto Blue Jays

Date: Sunday, August 16, 2020

Location: Sahlen Field in Buffalo, NY

TV: SUN/RSN

Odds/Point Spread: Rays (-131) Blue Jays (+121)

Yoshi Tsutsugo and the Tampa Bay Rays (12-9, 3rd in AL East) go to Sahlen Field on Sunday where they'll take on the Toronto Blue Jays (7-9, 4th in AL East). The Blue Jays open this matchup at +121 while the Rays are coming in at -131. The total has been set at 10.5. The pitchers who are expected to start will be Yonny Chirinos and Matt Shoemaker.

Key Tampa Bay Rays Injuries

8/15/2020 Yonny Chirinos SP Triceps Expected to be out until at least Aug 16
8/13/2020 Andrew Kittredge RP Elbow Out for the season
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

8/14/2020 Derek Fisher RF Quadriceps Expected to be out until at least Aug 17
8/7/2020 Trent Thornton SP Elbow Expected to be out until at least Aug 31
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 12-9 overall record this season. Chirinos has taken the ball for 231 frames and is sitting with 196 strikeouts during his pro baseball career. His earned run average is 3.62 (93 earned runs allowed) and his WHIP is 1.133. He has given up 205 hits (8.0 hits per 9 innings) with 57 walks. Chirinos (14-10 career mark) has a FIP of 4.10 while facing 939 opposing batters in the majors. The bullpen has an earned run average of 4.35 and they have given up 106 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .241 against the bullpen and they've struck out 111 hitters and walked 34 batters. As a team, Tampa Bay allows 9.3 hits per nine innings while striking out 9.8 batters per nine innings. They are 18th in the league in team earned run average at 4.39. The Rays pitchers collectively have given up 189 base hits and 89 earned runs. They have allowed 25 home runs this season, ranking them 11th in the league. Tampa Bay as a pitching staff has walked 66 batters and struck out 199. They have walked 3.3 men per 9 innings while striking out 9.8 per 9. They have a team WHIP of 1.40 and their FIP as a unit is 4.01.

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Hitting Statistics

As a team Tampa Bay is hitting .243, good for 13th in the league. The Rays hold a .428 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .337, which is good for 5th in baseball. They rank 16th in MLB with 8.0 hits per game. Yoshi Tsutsugo is hitting .182 with an on-base percentage of .303. He has 10 hits this season in 55 at bats with 11 runs batted in. He has a slugging percentage of .309 and an OPS+ of 73. Hunter Renfroe is hitting .190 this year and he has an on-base percentage of .284. He has totaled 11 hits and he has driven in 15 men in 58 at bats. His OPS+ is 105 while his slugging percentage is at .466. The Rays have 167 hits, including 44 doubles and 23 home runs. Tampa Bay has walked 93 times so far this season and they have struck out 198 times as a unit. They have left 137 men on base and have a team OPS of .765. They score 5.29 runs per contest and have scored a total of 111 runs this year.

Useful Pitching Statistics

Toronto has a 7-9 overall mark this year. So far in his pro baseball career, Shoemaker has allowed 555 hits while earning 526 punchouts in 589 innings pitched. He has surrendered a total of 252 ER's while holding a WHIP of 1.184 and having a FIP of 4.1. He has a SO/W ratio of 3.68 and he has faced 2,431 batters during his MLB career. Shoemaker (43-33 career record) is the owner of a 3.85 earned run average and has given up 8.5 hits per nine innings. The bullpen has an earned run average of 3.59 and they have given up 52 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .172 against the Blue Jays bullpen. Their relievers have struck out 83 batters and walked 37 opposing hitters. As a team, Toronto allows 6.8 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 108 base knocks and 64 earned runs this season. They have given up 19 home runs this year, which ranks 26th in Major League Baseball. Toronto as a staff has walked 75 hitters and struck out 147 batters. They give up a walk 4.7 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 4.40.

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Hitting Statistics

As a team, they are batting .236, good for 20th in the league. The Blue Jays hold a .436 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .301, which is good for 25th in baseball. They rank 14th in MLB with 8.2 hits per contest. Rowdy Tellez comes into this matchup batting .227 with an OBP of .300. He has 10 hits this year along with 9 RBI in 44 AB's. He maintains a slugging percentage of .500 with an OPS+ of 110. Vladimir Guerrero Jr is hitting .242 this season and he has an OBP of .309. He has collected 15 hits in 62 at bats while driving in 5 runs. He has an OPS+ of 90 and a slugging percentage of .403. The Blue Jays as a unit have 131 base hits, including 22 doubles and 29 homers. Toronto has walked 51 times this year and they have struck out on 138 occasions. They have had 107 men left on base and have an OPS of .737. They have scored 4.19 runs per game and totaled 67 runs this season.

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

Guy's Pick: Take the Rays (-131)

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