New York Yankees vs Tampa Bay Rays Prediction, 4/9/2021 MLB Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: New York Yankees vs Tampa Bay Rays

Date: Friday, April 9, 2021

Location: Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, FL

TV: Bally Sports Sun

Odds/Point Spread: New York (-156) Tampa Bay (+105)

Tropicana Field is the venue where Rich Hill and the Tampa Bay Rays (2-4, 5th in AL East) will take on the New York Yankees (3-3, 3rd in AL East) on Friday. The Yankees open this game at -156 while the Rays are priced at +105. The over/under has been set at 8. The starting pitchers are Corey Kluber and Rich Hill.

As a unit, the New York Yankees are notching 4.2 runs per contest, which ranks them 15th in the league. They have a total of 25 runs scored while having a team OBP of .342. The Yankees have hit 8 two-baggers as a squad and have knocked 6 balls out of the stadium. They have earned 24 RBI's in addition to 53 base knocks this season, and their batting average sits at .254. New York has a slugging % of .378 and have struck out 55 times, while drawing a walk on 28 occasions.

The Yankees have a team ERA of 1.74 on the campaign (1st in MLB), and their staff has struck out 73 hitters. They have walked 11 players from the other team and their FIP is 2.91 as a team on the campaign. They have accumulated a K/BB ratio of 6.64 and their pitching staff has earned a collective WHIP of 0.82. Yankees pitchers have given up 7 long balls in addition to 15 runs in total (29th in the league).

The Yankees relievers have stepped onto the mound in 3 save situations. The bullpen pitchers have inherited 6 runners over the course of the season. Yankees pitchers have gone to the mound with runners on in 6 games in addition to 8 outings with high leverage. The Yankees have dispatched 19 relievers to the mound on the year. The bullpen have tallied 2 holds over the course of the season (20th in baseball). They have earned 1 save for the season.

Kluber has taken the hill for 1,346 innings and has 1,467 strikeouts so far in his pro baseball career. His earned run average is 3.15 (472 ER's allowed) and his WHIP is 1.089. He has surrendered 1,170 base knocks (7.8 hits per nine innings) and has 296 walks. Kluber (98-58 career mark) has a FIP of 3.00 and he has faced 5,420 batters in the major leagues.

The Tampa Bay Rays hold a team on-base percentage of .294 and a team batting average of .208 so far this year. They have struck out on 54 occasions (19th in the league) and have accounted for 42 base hits. Tampa Bay has accounted for 5 HRs for the season and 22 runs batted in. The Rays hold a team slugging % of .337 and they are scoring 3.83 runs per outing (20th in MLB). They have 9 two-baggers, while walking 22 times and scoring 23 runs.

The Rays are sitting with a team WHIP of 1.541 in addition to having a FIP of 3.49 as a unit on the year. They come in at 2nd in the league as a pitching staff in total hits allowed with 66. The Tampa Bay pitching staff have allowed 42 runs this year while having an ERA of 5.92 (35 earned runs allowed). Their K/BB ratio is 3.31 (53 strikeouts vs 16 walks). They have allowed 5 home runs and they yield 7.11 runs per 9 innings (28th in baseball).

Tampa Bay has had bullpen pitchers step onto the hill in 10 save situations and they have walked away with 2 saves. They are currently ranked 23rd in the league with a save rate of 40.0%, and they have dispatched 21 relievers to the mound on the campaign. Their bullpen pitchers have stepped onto the hill in 15 games with high leverage and also 8 outings with base runners. Tampa Bay relief pitchers hold an inherited score rate of 50.0% out of their 10 inherited runners. Sitting with 5 save opportunities, the Rays have amassed 5 holds and also 3 blown saves.

Hill (67-44 career mark) has a 3.81 earned run average while giving up 7.4 hits per nine innings. His K/BB ratio is 2.65 and he has gone up against 4,110 hitters in his MLB career. He has conceded a total of 415 earned runs while holding a WHIP of 1.224 and a FIP of 3.9. So far in his MLB career, Hill has conceded 808 base hits and he has 1,039 punch outs in 980 innings pitched.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take New York (-156)

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