Tampa Bay Rays vs Boston Red Sox Prediction, 3/18/2022 MLB Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Tampa Bay Rays vs Boston Red Sox

Date: Friday, March 18, 2022

Location: JetBlue Park at Fenway South in Fort Myers, FL

TV: MLBTV

JetBlue Park at Fenway South is the venue where Nathan Eovaldi and the Boston Red Sox (92-70 last season, 2nd in AL East) will take on the Tampa Bay Rays (100-62 last year, 1st in AL East) on Friday.

As a team, the Tampa Bay Rays put up 5.3 runs per game, which ranked them 2nd in the league. They had a total of 857 runs and held an on-base percentage of .321. The Rays hit 288 doubles as a unit and knocked 222 baseballs out of the park. They accumulated 810 RBI's in addition to 1,335 base knocks in the previous season, while their team batting average finished at .242. Tampa Bay had a slugging percentage of .428 and struck out 1,542 times, while drawing a walk on 585 occasions.

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The Rays had an ERA of 3.67 for the previous season (4th in MLB), and they struck out 1,478 batters. They walked 436 opposing hitters and their FIP was 3.79 as a squad for the prior year. They accumulated a K/BB ratio of 3.39 and the pitching staff recorded a WHIP of 1.17. Rays pitchers gave up 184 long balls and 651 total runs (5th in the league).

The Rays dispatched 531 relievers to the mound in the previous season. The relievers inherited 166 base runners over the course of last season and 27.7% of those players crossed the plate. They had 42 saves in the prior season and missed out on 22 of their 64 chances to save the game. The Rays relief pitchers earned a save rate of 65.6% and stepped onto the hill in 159 save situations. The bullpen accumulated 91 holds last year (9th in the league). Rays relief pitchers entered the contest with runners on 126 times in addition to having 180 contests in high leverage situations.

The Tampa Bay Rays amassed 4,367 putouts for the prior year, as well as 1,358 assists and 80 errors. Their fielding percentage held at .986 which was 9th in baseball, and had a total of 130 double plays. The Rays converted 1 of baseballs in play into outs out of 7th innings, which ranked them in the majors 1310100.0%.

Mazza has taken the hill for 73 innings and has tallied 61 strikeouts in his MLB career. Mazza (2-3 record in his career) has earned a FIP of 4.02 while he has gone up against 322 opposing batters in the major leagues. His ERA is 4.89 (40 ER's allowed) and his WHIP is 1.466. He has allowed 81 base hits (9.9 hits per nine innings) and has had 27 walks.

The Red Sox held a team slugging percentage of .449 and they averaged 5.12 runs per outing (4th in MLB). They hit 330 two-baggers, while getting a free base 512 times and earning 829 runs. Boston accounted for 219 home runs last year to go along with 783 RBIs. They struck out on 1,386 instances (20th in baseball) and totaled 1,434 base hits. The Boston Red Sox accumulated an on-base percentage of .328 as well as a team batting average of .261 over the course of last year.

The Boston pitching staff surrendered 749 runs during the previous year while having an ERA of 4.26 (671 earned runs conceded). They surrendered 176 homers and they relinquished 4.75 runs per 9 innings (18th in baseball). The Red Sox held a team WHIP of 1.378 in addition to having a FIP of 3.95 as a team over the course of the prior season. Their K/BB ratio sat at 2.80 (1,527 strikeouts against 546 free passes). They finished at 28th in the league as a pitching staff in total hits allowed with 1,409.

Boston had relief pitchers take the mound in 76 save chances and they earned 49 saves. They were ranked 9th in the league with a save percentage of 64.5%, and they dispatched 563 relief pitchers onto the diamond last year. Their relievers took the field 198 times in high leverage situations and also on 177 occasions with base runners. Boston relievers had an inherited score rate of 30.7% out of their 277 inherited runners. Wrapping up the year with 176 save situations, the Red Sox accumulated 95 holds and 27 blown saves.

The Boston Red Sox twisted 143 double plays and accounted for a fielding rate of .981 (29th in the majors). The Red Sox accrued 1,421 assists, 108 errors and a tally of 4,257 putouts for the previous season. In 12,771 innings on the field, the Red Sox held a defensive efficiency of 65.9% (30th in the majors).

So far in his pro baseball career, Eovaldi has allowed 1,192 base hits while he has earned 957 strikeouts in 1,148 frames. He has conceded a total of 534 ER's while earning a WHIP of 1.331 and a FIP of 3.8. He has a strikeout to walk ratio of 2.85 and he has gone up against 4,895 opposing batters in his career. Eovaldi (61-65 career mark) has a 4.19 earned run average while allowing 9.3 hits per nine innings.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Boston

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