Oakland Athletics vs Tampa Bay Rays Prediction, 4/7/2023 MLB Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Oakland Athletics vs Tampa Bay Rays

Date: Friday, April 7, 2023

Location: Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, FL

TV: Bally Sports Sun

Odds/Point Spread: Oakland (+240) Tampa Bay (-285)

The Oakland Athletics (2-4) are traveling to Tropicana Field on Friday where they will attempt to beat the Tampa Bay Rays (6-0). The moneyline on this game has the Athletics at +240 while the Rays are sitting at -285. The total is 8. The pitchers who are expected to start are Ken Waldichuk and Zach Eflin.

As a unit, the Oakland Athletics are recording 3.7 runs per game, which ranks them 23rd in MLB. They have earned a total of 22 runs scored and have an OBP of .283. The Athletics have accounted for 10 doubles as a squad and have hit 6 baseballs out of the stadium. They have compiled 21 RBI's as well as 40 hits so far this season, while their average at the plate sits at .201. Oakland is slugging .342 and have been called out on strikes 52 times, while taking a walk on 22 occasions.

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Athletics pitchers have conceded 6 home runs in addition to 41 runs in total (29th in the league). Their pitching staff has walked 27 opposing batters and their FIP is 4.52 as a unit this year. They have a K/BB ratio of 1.74 and their pitching staff holds a collective WHIP of 1.55. The Athletics hold a team earned run average of 5.79 so far this season (27th in baseball), and the staff has rung up 47 batters.

The Athletics have transformed 65.5% of baseballs in play into outs out of their 504 innings, ranking them 25th in baseball. The Oakland Athletics have 168 putouts this year, as well as 52 assists and 8 errors. Their fielding rate is holding at .965 which has them sitting 30th in MLB, and have 4 double plays.

Waldichuk (2-3 career mark) holds a FIP of 5.06 while he has gone up against 173 batters in the major leagues. He has surrendered 41 base knocks (9.1 hits per nine innings) and has 11 walks. His earned run average is 5.58 (25 ER's allowed) and his career WHIP is 1.289. Waldichuk has taken the mound for 40 innings and is sitting with 37 punch outs during his pro baseball career.

The Rays have a team SLG% of .542 and they average 7.33 runs per outing (1st in MLB). They have recorded 13 doubles, while taking a walk 19 times as well as putting up 44 runs. Tampa Bay has hit 13 home runs on the year as well as 43 runs batted in. They have been rung up on 44 occasions (24th in baseball) and have a total of 57 hits. The Tampa Bay Rays have accounted for an OBP of .348 in addition to a batting average of .284 for the year.

The Rays hold a team WHIP of 1.019 and are the owners of a FIP of 2.74 as a staff for the season. Their K/BB ratio sits at 3.40 (51 strikeouts vs 15 walks). They have a ranking of 4th in baseball as a pitching staff in total hits relinquished with 40. They have relinquished 2 long balls and they allow 2.17 runs per 9 innings (3rd in the league). The Tampa Bay pitching staff have yielded 13 runs on the campaign while holding an ERA of 2.00 (12 earned runs yielded).

Out of their 486 innings on the diamond, the Rays have earned a defensive efficiency of 72.3% (8th in MLB). The Tampa Bay Rays have turned 6 double plays and hold a fielding percentage of .986 (17th in the majors). The Rays have accrued 49 assists, 3 errors and have earned 162 putouts so far this season.

During his career, Eflin has allowed 697 base knocks while he has accumulated 557 K's in 664 frames. Eflin (37-45 career win-loss mark) has a 4.47 ERA while surrendering 9.4 hits per 9 innings. He has surrendered a total of 330 ER's while earning a WHIP of 1.292 and having a FIP of 4.4. He has a strikeout to walk ratio of 3.46 and he has faced 2,825 batters during his pro baseball career.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Oakland (+240)

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