Tampa Bay Rays vs Houston Astros Prediction, 9/30/2022 MLB Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Tampa Bay Rays vs Houston Astros

Date: Friday, September 30, 2022

Location: Minute Maid Park in Houston, TX

TV: AT&T SportsNet Southwest

The Houston Astros (102-54) will compete against the Tampa Bay Rays (85-70) at Minute Maid Park on Friday. The starting pitchers are Drew Rasmussen and Jose Urquidy.

The Rays have accrued 287 two-baggers as a squad and have hit 134 baseballs out of the park. Tampa Bay has a slugging rate of .380 and have been called out on strikes 1,336 times, while drawing a walk on 475 occasions. As a squad, the Tampa Bay Rays are scoring 4.2 runs per game, which has them at 21st in the league. They have accounted for 618 RBI's as well as 1,256 hits on the year, and their batting average is sitting at .241. They have notched a total of 650 runs while having a team OBP of .310.

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The Rays hold a team ERA of 3.39 so far this year (4th in the league), and their staff has rung up 1,339 hitters. They have a K/BB ratio of 3.60 and the pitching staff holds a WHIP of 1.14. Rays pitchers have allowed 167 home runs in addition to 588 runs in total (7th in baseball). Their pitching staff has walked 372 opposing batters and their FIP sits at 3.70 as a squad on the year.

Rays pitchers have come into the game with runners on base 134 times in addition to having 196 appearances in high leverage situations. The bullpen have a total of 116 holds so far this season (1st in baseball). The Rays relief pitchers have a save rate of 55.7% and stepped onto the hill in 197 save situations. They have 44 saves on the season and have not converted 35 of 79 save opportunities. The relievers have inherited 177 runners this season and 25.4% of those players ended up crossing the plate. The Rays have dispatched 559 relief pitchers to the mound so far this season.

The Rays have turned 70.9% of baseballs in play into outs in their 12,438 innings on the field, which has them ranked 4th in professional baseball. The Tampa Bay Rays have accumulated 4,146 putouts over the course of the season, in addition to 1,326 assists and 80 errors. Their fielding rate is currently at .986 which has them ranked 14th in professional baseball, and have a total of 107 double plays.

Rasmussen has pitched in 230 innings and has accounted for 216 K's so far in his MLB career. Rasmussen (15-8 career record) sits with a FIP of 3.28 while going up against 936 batters in the major leagues. His earned run average is 3.05 (78 ER's allowed) and his WHIP is 1.107. He has conceded 190 base knocks (7.4 hits per nine innings) and has had 65 free passes.

The Astros have a team slugging percentage of .423 and they earn 4.59 runs per game (9th in MLB). They have hit 270 doubles, while walking 520 times and scoring 716 runs. Houston has accumulated 208 HRs this year as well as 695 RBIs. They have been called out on strikes on 1,141 occasions (29th in MLB) and have tallied 1,287 hits. The Houston Astros are sitting with a team OBP of .320 as well as a batting average of .247 on the campaign.

The Astros hold a team WHIP of 1.094 in addition to having a FIP of 3.31 as a staff for the season. Their K/BB ratio comes in at 3.33 (1,455 strikeouts against 437 bases on balls). They rank 2nd in baseball as a pitching staff in total hits relinquished with 1,085. They have conceded 130 HR's and they yield 3.26 runs per 9 innings (2nd in MLB). The Houston pitching staff have relinquished 504 runs so far this season while having an ERA of 2.92 (451 earned runs surrendered).

Houston has called on relief pitchers to take the mound in 66 save opportunities and they have converted 50 saves. They are ranked 2nd in the league holding a save rate of 75.8%, and they have sent 461 relievers onto the field on the campaign. Their bullpen pitchers have come in 157 times in high leverage situations in addition to 101 occasions with base runners. Houston bullpen pitchers have an inherited score percentage of 27.6% of 145 inherited base runners. With 160 save situations, the Astros have earned 94 holds in addition to 16 blown saves.

The Houston Astros have turned 118 double plays and hold a fielding percentage of .987 (7th in baseball). The Astros have accrued 1,232 assists, 71 errors and have a tally of 4,174 putouts over the course of the season. In their 12,522 innings played, the Astros hold a defensive efficiency of 71.9% (3rd in baseball).

In his MLB career, Urquidy has surrendered 299 hits while accumulating 280 K's in 340 innings pitched. Urquidy (24-13 record in his career) holds a 3.71 ERA while surrendering 7.9 hits per nine innings. He has allowed 140 ER's while holding a WHIP of 1.085 and being the owner of a FIP of 4.3. His strikeout to walk ratio is 4.00 and he has faced 1,377 opposing hitters thus far in his career.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Tampa Bay

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