Detroit Tigers vs Tampa Bay Rays Prediction, 4/1/2023 MLB Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Detroit Tigers vs Tampa Bay Rays

Date: Saturday, April 1, 2023

Location: Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, FL

TV: Bally Sports Sun

Odds/Point Spread: Detroit (+145) Tampa Bay (-170)

The Detroit Tigers (66-96 last year) are on their way to Tropicana Field on Saturday where they will compete against the Tampa Bay Rays (86-76 last season). The moneyline on this game has Detroit at +145 while Tampa Bay is coming in at -170. The over/under has been set at 6.5. The expected starting pitchers will be Spencer Turnbull and Zach Eflin.

Detroit had a slugging percentage of .346 and struck out 1,413 times, while drawing a walk on 380 occasions. They tallied 530 RBI's as well as 1,240 base knocks during the previous year, and their average at the plate was at .231. The Tigers accumulated 235 two-baggers as a unit and hit 110 baseballs out of the park. They notched a total of 557 runs scored while holding a team on-base percentage of .286. As a team, the Detroit Tigers scored 3.4 runs per contest, which was 30th in baseball.

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The Tigers held a team ERA of 4.05 in the previous season (21st in baseball), and their staff struck out 1,195 hitters. Their pitching staff walked 511 opposing batters and their FIP finished at 4.16 as a team for the prior year. They had a strikeout to walk ratio of 2.34 and their pitching staff earned a collective WHIP of 1.30. Tigers pitchers relinquished 167 home runs and also 713 runs (19th in the league).

The Tigers bullpen recorded a save rate of 67.9% and stepped onto the mound in 153 save situations. The relievers inherited 198 runners during the previous year and 28.3% of those runners earned a run for their team. Tigers bullpen pitchers entered the contest with runners on 122 times in addition to having 168 games in high leverage situations. The Tigers had dispatched 581 relievers to the mound over the course of the prior season. The bullpen recorded 93 holds for the prior year (9th in baseball). They earned 38 saves over the course of last year and blew 18 of their 56 save opportunities.

The Detroit Tigers accounted for 4,259 putouts for the prior year, in addition to 1,404 assists and 93 errors. Their fielding percentage was at .984 which put them in 22nd in professional baseball, and they twisted 137 double plays. The Tigers converted 70.1% of balls hit into play into outs out of 12,777 innings, which had them sitting at 13th in professional baseball.

Turnbull (11-25 win-loss mark in his career) sits with a FIP of 3.63 and he has faced 1,168 batters in the majors. He has given up 255 base knocks (8.5 hits per 9 innings) and has had 104 walks. His earned run average is 4.25 (128 earned runs allowed) and he has a WHIP of 1.323. Turnbull has thrown 271 frames and has racked up 256 K's in his career.

The Rays had a team SLG% of .377 and they were recording 4.11 runs per game (21st in baseball). They hit 296 doubles, while walking 500 times as well as earning 666 runs. Tampa Bay hit 139 home runs in the previous season to go along with 634 RBIs. They were rung up on 1,395 occasions (12th in the league) and totaled 1,294 hits. The Tampa Bay Rays had a team OBP of .309 in addition to a batting average of .239 over the course of the prior season.

The Rays had a WHIP of 1.145 and were the owners of a FIP of 3.68 as a staff in the prior season. Their K/BB ratio was 3.60 (1,384 strikeouts vs 384 bases on balls). They finished at 8th in MLB as a staff in total hits allowed with 1,260. They allowed 172 home runs and they conceded 3.85 runs per 9 innings (6th in the league). The Tampa Bay pitching staff surrendered 614 runs last season while holding an ERA of 3.41 (544 earned runs allowed).

Wrapping up the year with 198 save situations, the Rays accumulated 116 holds and 36 blown saves. Tampa Bay called on relievers to step onto the hill in 80 save opportunities and they tallied 44 saves. Their relief pitchers stepped onto the mound 197 times in high leverage situations in addition to 136 occasions with base runners. Tampa Bay relievers had an inherited score percentage of 25.1% out of 179 inherited base runners. They were ranked 28th in the league with a save percentage of 55.0%, and they sent 573 bullpen pitchers to the mound last year.

In their 12,921 innings on the field, the Rays had a defensive efficiency of 70.8% (7th in the majors). Tampa Bay Rays turned 110 double plays and notched a fielding percentage of .985 (14th in baseball). The Rays recorded 1,386 assists, 84 errors and earned a total of 4,307 putouts during the previous year.

Eflin (36-45 record in his career) holds a 4.49 earned run average while conceding 9.5 hits per 9 innings. He has a strikeout to walk ratio of 3.45 and he has gone up against 2,805 batters during his career. He has given up 329 ER's while earning a WHIP of 1.295 and a FIP of 4.4. So far in his MLB career, Eflin has conceded 694 hits while he has totaled 552 strikeouts in 659 innings pitched.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Detroit (+145)

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