Tampa Bay Rays vs Cleveland Indians Prediction, 7/24/2021 MLB Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Tampa Bay Rays vs Cleveland Indians

Date: Saturday, July 24, 2021

Location: Progressive Field in Cleveland, OH

TV: SportsTime Ohio

Odds/Point Spread: Tampa Bay (-132) Cleveland (+105)

Progressive Field is the site where J.C. Mejia and the Cleveland Indians (48-46, 2nd in AL Central) will take on the Tampa Bay Rays (58-39, 2nd in AL East) on Saturday. The line on this game has the Rays coming in at -132 and the Indians are at +105. The O/U opens at 9. The pitchers who are expected to start will be Rich Hill and J.C. Mejia.

As a squad, the Tampa Bay Rays are notching 4.9 runs per contest, which has them at 7th in the league. They have accumulated 474 runs while holding a team on-base percentage of .315. The Rays have compiled 167 two-baggers as a team and have hit 118 baseballs out of the park. They have earned 451 runs batted in in addition to 758 hits for the season, and their batting average comes in at .231. Tampa Bay has a slugging rate of .398 and have been called out on strikes 980 times, while taking a walk on 365 occasions.

Get all of our MLB Picks

The Rays hold a team ERA of 3.59 this year (8th in baseball), and they have struck out 916 hitters. They have walked 268 opposing batters and their FIP sits at 3.72 as a team over the course of the season. Their K/BB ratio is 3.42 and their pitching staff has earned a collective WHIP of 1.14. Rays pitchers have given up 109 home runs and 392 runs in total (11th in MLB).

The Rays have sent 312 relief pitchers to the hill for the season. The relievers have inherited 98 runners this year with 31.6% of those runners earned a run for their team. They have recorded 27 saves this year and have blown 11 out of their 38 save opportunities. The Rays relief pitchers have a save rate of 71.1% and has entered the game in 96 save situations. The bullpen have 56 holds this season (7th in baseball). Rays bullpen pitchers have stepped onto the hill with players on base 81 times and also have had 121 appearances in high leverage situations.

The Tampa Bay Rays have notched a total of 2,622 putouts this season, as well as 847 assists and 51 errors. Their fielding percentage is currently at .986 which ranks 7th in baseball, and have a total of 621 double plays. The Rays have transformed 70.8% of baseballs in play into outs out of 7,866 innings, which has them sitting at 6th in professional baseball.

Hill (73-48 career win-loss mark) sits with a FIP of 3.99 while going up against 4,481 batters in the majors. He has allowed 878 hits (7.4 hits per nine innings) with 426 free passes. His earned run average is 3.80 (452 ER's allowed) and his career WHIP is 1.217. Hill has taken the hill for 1,071 innings and is sitting with 1,126 K's so far in his pro baseball career.

The Indians hold a slugging percentage of .396 and they average 4.31 runs per contest (17th in the league). They have hit 136 doubles, while getting a free base 266 times as well as putting up 405 runs. Cleveland has a total of 116 HRs so far this year to go along with 386 runs batted in. They have been rung up on 807 occasions (22nd in baseball) and have earned a total of 702 base hits. The Cleveland Indians have a team on-base percentage of .298 as well as a team batting average of .229 over the course of the season.

The Cleveland pitching staff have given up 426 runs on the season while holding an ERA of 4.42 (399 earned runs surrendered). They have yielded 123 dingers and they concede 4.72 runs per 9 innings (17th in MLB). The Indians have a team WHIP of 1.301 and have a FIP of 4.32 as a pitching staff so far this year. They currently have a K/BB ratio of 2.66 (871 strikeouts against 328 walks). They are currently ranked 10th in the league as a staff in total hits conceded with 730.

Cleveland has called on relievers to enter the game in 36 save opportunities and they have tallied 25 saves. They are currently ranked 4th in the league with a save percentage of 69.4%, and they have sent 313 relief pitchers to the hill on the campaign. Their relievers have stepped onto the hill 98 times in high leverage situations and on 83 occasions with runners on base. Cleveland relievers hold an inherited score percentage of 33.3% of 117 inherited base runners. With 85 save situations, the Indians have tallied 47 holds in addition to 11 blown saves.

In their 7,317 innings on the field, the Indians are sitting with a efficiency on defense of 69.7% (15th in baseball). The Cleveland Indians have turned 76 double plays and have earned a fielding percentage of .985 (9th in the majors). The Indians have 806 assists, 49 errors and have earned a total of 2,439 putouts on the campaign.

During his MLB career, Mejia has given up 37 base knocks while he has accumulated 35 K's in 34 innings. He has allowed 29 ER's while earning a WHIP of 1.442 and a FIP of 4.7. His strikeout to walk ratio is 2.69 and he has gone up against 151 batters during his MLB career. Mejia (1-5 career win-loss mark) has earned a 7.53 ERA and has allowed 9.6 hits per nine innings.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Tampa Bay (-132)

Get $60 worth of FREE premium member picks. No Obligation. No Salesman. No Credit Card. Fast Sign up with Instant Access Click Here