Toronto Blue Jays vs Tampa Bay Rays Prediction, 8/22/2020 MLB Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Toronto Blue Jays vs Tampa Bay Rays

Date: Saturday, August 22, 2020

Location: Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, FL

TV: SUN/RSN

Odds/Point Spread: Blue Jays (+134) Rays (-154)

Brandon Lowe and the Tampa Bay Rays (17-9, 1st in AL East) play the Toronto Blue Jays (12-11, 3rd in AL East) at Tropicana Field on Saturday. The odds on this game have the Blue Jays coming in at +134 and the Rays are at -154. The O/U opens at 9.5. The expected starting pitchers are Hyun Jin Ryu and Josh Fleming.

Key Toronto Blue Jays Injuries

8/19/2020 Nate Pearson SP Elbow Expected to be out until at least Sep 4
8/18/2020 Derek Fisher RF Quadriceps Expected to be out until at least Aug 25
8/17/2020 Bo Bichette SS Knee Expected to be out until at least Sep 10
8/16/2020 Yennsy Diaz RP Lat Expected to be out until at least Aug 26
8/4/2020 Elvis Luciano RP Undisclosed Expected to be out until at least Aug 24
7/28/2020 Ken Giles RP Forearm Expected to be out until at least Sep 1

Key Tampa Bay Rays Injuries

8/21/2020 Yonny Chirinos SP Elbow Out for the season
8/19/2020 Jose Alvarado RP Shoulder Expected to be out until at least Aug 31
8/16/2020 Oliver Drake RP Biceps Expected to be out until at least Aug 24
8/16/2020 Charlie Morton SP Shoulder Expected to be out until at least Aug 22
8/13/2020 Andrew Kittredge RP Elbow Out for the season
7/21/2020 Colin Poche RP Elbow Out for the season

Useful Pitching Statistics

The Blue Jays have a 12-11 overall record this season. Ryu (56-34 win-loss mark in his career) has a FIP of 3.40 while facing 3,131 batters in the majors. His ERA is 3.00 (255 ER's allowed) and his WHIP is 1.163. He has given up 718 base knocks (8.4 hits per nine innings) and has 173 free passes. Ryu has taken the ball for 766 innings and has racked up 692 strikeouts in his MLB career. The bullpen has an earned run average of 3.16 and they have given up 80 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .181 against the bullpen and they've struck out 125 hitters and walked 51 batters. As a team, Toronto allows 7.6 hits per nine innings while striking out 9.5 batters per nine innings. They are 8th in the league in team earned run average at 4.01. The Blue Jays pitchers collectively have given up 170 base hits and 90 earned runs. They have allowed 27 home runs this season, ranking them 23rd in the league. Toronto as a pitching staff has walked 96 batters and struck out 214. They have walked 4.3 men per 9 innings while striking out 9.5 per 9. They have a team WHIP of 1.32 and their FIP as a unit is 4.26.

Related: Get MLB predictions on all of today's games

Hitting Statistics

As a team Toronto is hitting .252, good for 12th in the league. The Blue Jays hold a .450 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .314, which is good for 21st in baseball. They rank 9th in MLB with 8.6 hits per game. Randal Grichuk is hitting .306 with an on-base percentage of .359. He has 22 hits this season in 72 at bats with 15 runs batted in. He has a slugging percentage of .583 and an OPS+ of 151. Cavan Biggio is hitting .244 this year and he has an on-base percentage of .369. He has totaled 21 hits and he has driven in 13 men in 86 at bats. His OPS+ is 134 while his slugging percentage is at .500. The Blue Jays have 198 hits, including 31 doubles and 41 home runs. Toronto has walked 70 times so far this season and they have struck out 194 times as a unit. They have left 154 men on base and have a team OPS of .764. They score 4.61 runs per contest and have scored a total of 106 runs this year.

Useful Pitching Statistics

Tampa Bay has a 17-9 overall mark this year. The bullpen has an earned run average of 4.02 and they have given up 126 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .231 against the Rays bullpen. Their relievers have struck out 138 batters and walked 41 opposing hitters. As a team, Tampa Bay allows 9 hits per nine innings while striking out 9.6 batters per nine innings. They are 11th in the league in team earned run average at 4.17. The Rays pitchers as a team have surrendered 227 base knocks and 105 earned runs this season. They have given up 33 home runs this year, which ranks 12th in Major League Baseball. Tampa Bay as a staff has walked 79 hitters and struck out 243 batters. They give up a walk 3.1 times per 9 innings while they strike out 9.6 per 9. Their team WHIP is 1.35 while their FIP as a staff is 4.16.

Hitting Statistics

As a team, they are batting .247, good for 13th in the league. The Rays hold a .443 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .336, which is good for 5th in baseball. They rank 14th in MLB with 8.2 hits per contest. Brandon Lowe comes into this matchup batting .330 with an OBP of .410. He has 29 hits this year along with 23 RBI in 88 AB's. He maintains a slugging percentage of .727 with an OPS+ of 209. Hunter Renfroe is hitting .188 this season and he has an OBP of .274. He has collected 12 hits in 64 at bats while driving in 15 runs. He has an OPS+ of 94 and a slugging percentage of .438. The Rays as a unit have 212 base hits, including 53 doubles and 33 homers. Tampa Bay has walked 111 times this year and they have struck out on 250 occasions. They have had 167 men left on base and have an OPS of .779. They have scored 5.42 runs per game and totaled 141 runs this season.

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

Josh's Pick: Take the Rays (-154)

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