Detroit Tigers vs Tampa Bay Rays Prediction, 4/2/2023 MLB Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Detroit Tigers vs Tampa Bay Rays

Date: Sunday, April 2, 2023

Location: Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, FL

TV: Bally Sports Sun

Tropicana Field is the site where the Tampa Bay Rays (86-76 last season) will meet the Detroit Tigers (66-96 last year) on Sunday. The pitchers taking the mound will be Joey Wentz and Jeffrey Springs.

The Tigers accrued 235 two-baggers as a unit and hit 110 baseballs out of the park. Detroit had a slugging percentage of .346 and were called out on strikes 1,413 times, while being walked on 380 occasions. As a team, the Detroit Tigers notched 3.4 runs per outing, which ranked them 30th in baseball. They accrued 530 runs batted in in addition to 1,240 hits for the previous season, while their batting average sat at .231. They were sitting with 557 runs scored and held an on-base percentage of .286.

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The Tigers had a team earned run average of 4.05 over the course of the prior season (21st in baseball), and the staff rung up 1,195 batters. Their strikeout to walk ratio was 2.34 and the pitching staff earned a collective WHIP of 1.30. Tigers pitchers gave up 167 home runs and also 713 runs in total (19th in the league). They walked 511 opposing players and their FIP came in at 4.16 as a team last year.

The Tigers dispatched 581 relievers to the hill for the previous season. The bullpen inherited 198 runners in the prior season and 28.3% of them earned a run for their team. They accumulated 38 saves in the previous season and did not convert 18 of their 56 chances to save the game. The Tigers relief pitchers earned a save rate of 67.9% and stepped onto the hill in 153 save situations. The relief pitchers racked up 93 holds during the previous year (9th in the league). Tigers relief pitchers entered the contest with players on base 122 times as well as having 168 games in high leverage situations.

The Tigers converted 70.1% of balls in play into outs out of 12,777 innings, which had them sitting 13th in MLB. The Detroit Tigers had a total of 4,259 putouts last year, in addition to 1,404 assists and 93 errors. Their fielding percentage was at .984 which ranked 22nd in baseball, and they turned 137 double plays.

Wentz (2-2 career mark) has earned a FIP of 3.54 and he has gone up against 135 hitters during his time in the major leagues. He has surrendered 23 base knocks (6.3 hits per 9 innings) and has had 13 free passes. His ERA is 3.03 (11 earned runs allowed) and he has a WHIP of 1.102. Wentz has thrown 32 innings and has accounted for 27 punch outs during his career.

The Rays had a team SLG% of .377 and they earned 4.11 runs per outing (21st in baseball). They hit 296 doubles, while getting a free base 500 times as well as notching 666 runs. Tampa Bay recorded 139 HRs last year and 634 RBIs. They were called out on strikes on 1,395 occasions (12th in MLB) and tallied 1,294 base knocks. The Tampa Bay Rays had an on-base percentage of .309 and a batting average of .239 for the previous season.

The Rays had a team WHIP of 1.145 and had a FIP of 3.68 as a staff in the previous season. Their K/BB ratio sat at 3.60 (1,384 strikeouts vs 384 walks). They finished at 8th in MLB as a staff in total hits surrendered with 1,260. They gave up 172 home runs and they relinquished 3.85 runs per 9 innings (6th in the league). The Tampa Bay pitching staff conceded 614 runs in the previous season while holding a team ERA of 3.41 (544 earned runs relinquished).

Tampa Bay called on bullpen pitchers to enter the game in 80 save opportunities and they earned 44 saves. They were sitting at 28th in the league holding a save rate of 55.0%, and they sent 573 bullpen pitchers to the hill last season. Their bullpen pitchers took the field 197 times in high leverage situations in addition to 136 occasions with runners on base. Tampa Bay relievers had an inherited score rate of 25.1% out of their 179 inherited runners. Finishing with 198 save situations, the Rays recorded 116 holds in addition to 36 blown saves.

Tampa Bay Rays turned 110 double plays and had a fielding rate of .985 (14th in the majors). The Rays had 1,386 assists, 84 errors and accumulated 4,307 putouts over the course of last year. Out of their 12,921 innings on the diamond, the Rays had a efficiency on defense of 70.8% (7th in professional baseball).

Springs (19-10 career mark) has earned a 3.57 ERA while conceding 8.5 hits per 9 innings. He has a strikeout to walk ratio of 3.35 and he has gone up against 1,123 opposing hitters in his pro baseball career. He has allowed 105 ER's while holding a WHIP of 1.277 and being the owner of a FIP of 3.7. In his pro baseball career, Springs has conceded 249 base hits and he has 298 punch outs in 264 innings.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Detroit

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