Toronto Blue Jays vs Tampa Bay Rays Prediction, 9/23/2022 MLB Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Toronto Blue Jays vs Tampa Bay Rays

Date: Friday, September 23, 2022

Location: Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, FL

TV: Bally Sports Sun

The Toronto Blue Jays (84-65) are headed to Tropicana Field on Friday where they will take on the Tampa Bay Rays (82-67). The pitchers who are expected to start will be Alek Manoah and Jeffrey Springs.

As a team, the Toronto Blue Jays are scoring 4.8 runs per contest, which has them sitting at 5th in the league. They have 704 runs while holding a team on-base percentage of .327. The Blue Jays have tallied 291 doubles as a squad and have hit 179 balls out of the stadium. They have accumulated 688 RBI's and 1,332 hits so far this season, while their batting average is at .262. Toronto has a slugging percentage of .429 and have struck out 1,130 times, while drawing a walk on 453 occasions.

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The Blue Jays have compiled a team ERA of 3.93 this season (14th in MLB), and they have rung up 1,268 hitters. Their pitching staff has walked 384 batters and their FIP is 3.92 as a unit this season. Their strikeout to walk ratio is 3.30 and the pitching staff has a team WHIP of 1.24. Blue Jays pitchers have given up 173 long balls and 628 total runs (13th in baseball).

The Blue Jays have sent 534 relief pitchers to the mound on the year. The relief pitchers have inherited 226 base runners this year with 24.3% of them ended up scoring. They have tallied 42 saves so far this season and have not converted 23 of 65 save chances. The Blue Jays bullpen have a save percentage of 64.6% and has entered the game in 152 save situations. The relief pitchers have a total of 84 holds this year (9th in MLB). Blue Jays relief pitchers have stepped onto the hill with runners on 147 times as well as having 171 appearances in high leverage situations.

The Blue Jays have turned 69.3% of balls hit into play into outs in their 11,871 innings, which has them sitting at 17th in pro baseball. The Toronto Blue Jays have accounted for 3,957 putouts at this point in the season, as well as 1,225 assists and 72 errors. Their fielding percentage is holding at .986 which has them sitting 10th in professional baseball, and have accumulated 113 double plays.

Manoah has taken the mound for 295 frames and has totaled 295 K's thus far in his career. His earned run average is 2.71 (89 earned runs allowed) and his WHIP is 1.023. He has conceded 215 hits (6.6 hits per nine innings) and has had 87 walks. Manoah (23-9 career win-loss record) holds a FIP of 3.57 while facing 1,198 opposing hitters in the majors.

The Rays hold a team SLG% of .381 and they have an average of 4.18 runs per game (20th in MLB). They have notched 269 doubles, while taking a walk 454 times and racking up 619 runs. Tampa Bay is sitting with 130 home runs over the course of the season as well as 590 runs batted in. They have struck out on 1,266 occasions (12th in the league) and have 1,199 hits. The Tampa Bay Rays have earned an OBP of .310 as well as a team batting average of .242 this year.

The Rays are sitting with a team WHIP of 1.135 in addition to having a FIP of 3.64 as a squad on the year. Their strikeout to walk ratio is 3.68 (1,278 strikeouts against 347 walks). They rank 5th in MLB as a staff in total hits given up with 1,147. They have surrendered 156 long balls and they concede 3.80 runs per 9 innings (7th in MLB). The Tampa Bay pitching staff have allowed 555 runs on the season while having an ERA of 3.35 (490 earned runs conceded).

Tampa Bay relief pitchers have an inherited score rate of 24.6% out of 171 inherited base runners. Their relief pitchers have come in 182 times in high leverage situations and on 127 occasions with runners on base. Sitting with 188 save situations, the Rays have recorded 111 holds and 32 blown saves. They rank 22nd in the league with a save rate of 57.3%, and they have dispatched 525 relievers to the hill so far this season. Tampa Bay has called on relief pitchers to step onto the mound in 75 save opportunities and they have tallied 43 saves.

The Tampa Bay Rays have gotten 99 double plays and have a fielding percentage of .986 (17th in professional baseball). The Rays have recorded 1,255 assists, 76 errors and have a total of 3,950 putouts on the campaign. In 11,850 innings on the field, the Rays are sitting with a defensive efficiency of 70.9% (5th in the majors).

Springs (19-9 career mark) is the owner of a 3.63 ERA while allowing 8.5 hits per nine innings. His strikeout to walk ratio is 3.26 and he has gone up against 1,066 hitters so far in his pro baseball career. He has conceded a total of 101 ER's while holding a WHIP of 1.297 and being the owner of a FIP of 3.8. So far in his MLB career, Springs has given up 238 hits and he has 284 strikeouts in 250 frames.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Toronto

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