Tampa Bay Rays vs Cleveland Guardians Prediction, 9/1/2023 MLB Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Tampa Bay Rays vs Cleveland Guardians

Date: Friday, September 1, 2023

Location: Progressive Field in Cleveland, OH

TV: Bally Sports Great Lakes

Odds/Point Spread: Tampa Bay (-166) Cleveland (+140)

The Cleveland Guardians (64-70) welcome the Tampa Bay Rays (82-52) at Progressive Field on Friday. The odds on this game have Tampa Bay at -166 and Cleveland is coming in at +140. The total is set at 7.5. The pitchers who are expected to start are Tyler Glasnow and Cal Quantrill.

The Rays have accounted for 227 doubles as a unit and have smacked 194 balls out of the park. Tampa Bay is slugging .447 and have struck out 1,171 times, while being walked on 423 occasions. As a unit, the Tampa Bay Rays are notching 5.4 runs per game, which has them at 4th in the league. They have amassed 688 runs batted in in addition to 1,178 hits so far this year, while their batting average is .260. They have 718 runs scored and have an on-base percentage of .332.

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The Rays have a team ERA of 3.83 on the year (4th in MLB), and their staff has rung up 1,196 batters. Rays pitchers have given up 142 home runs in addition to 532 runs in total (2nd in baseball). They have walked 370 hitters and their FIP sits at 3.86 as a squad on the year. Tampa Bay has relinquished 1,035 hits (7.8 per 9 innings) and also 505 earned runs. Their strikeout to walk ratio sits at 3.23 and their pitching staff sits with a WHIP of 1.18.

The Rays bullpen have accumulated a save rate of 62.7% and stepped onto the hill in 117 save situations. The relief pitchers have inherited 150 base runners on the year with 27.3% of them earned a run for their team. Rays pitchers have entered the contest with runners on base 97 times in addition to having 125 appearances in high leverage situations. The Rays have sent 433 relief pitchers to the mound on the season. The relief pitchers have tallied 57 holds so far this year (27th in baseball). They have accumulated 37 saves on the year and have blown 22 of their 59 chances to save the game.

The Tampa Bay Rays have a total of 3,506 putouts on the campaign, in addition to 1,175 assists and 55 errors. Their fielding percentage is holding steady at .988 which has them sitting 5th in pro baseball, and have earned 97 double plays. The Rays have turned 70.6% of balls in play into outs out of their 10,518 innings on the diamond, ranking them 4th in MLB.

Glasnow has taken the ball for 496 innings and has racked up 630 punch outs during his career. Glasnow (27-24 career mark) sits with a FIP of 3.66 and he has gone up against 2,062 hitters in the majors. His earned run average is 3.84 (212 ER's allowed) and his career WHIP is 1.209. He has conceded 398 base knocks (7.2 hits per 9 innings) with 202 walks.

Cleveland has recorded 103 home runs over the course of the season as well as 508 runs batted in. They have 245 doubles, while walking 382 times and earning 545 runs. The Cleveland Guardians have recorded a team OBP of .310 in addition to a team batting average of .248 so far this year. The Guardians hold a team SLG% of .381 and they are scoring 4.07 runs per outing (26th in MLB). They have struck out on 950 occasions (30th in the league) and have recorded 1,132 hits.

The Cleveland pitching staff have surrendered 554 runs this year while having a team ERA of 3.85 (512 earned runs conceded). They have allowed 142 long balls and they surrender 4.17 runs per 9 innings (6th in the league). The Guardians hold a team WHIP of 1.282 and are the owners of a FIP of 4.18 as a squad so far this year. Their strikeout to walk ratio sits at 8.10 (1,081 strikeouts vs 426 walks). They are sitting at 15th in MLB as a staff in total hits given up with 1,108.

Sitting with 147 save situations, the Guardians have recorded 78 holds and also 25 blown saves. Cleveland has called on bullpen pitchers to enter the game in 64 save opportunities and they have come away with 39 saves. Their relief pitchers have come in 152 times in high leverage situations and on 116 occasions with runners on. Cleveland relievers have an inherited score percentage of 22.0% out of their 164 inherited base runners. They are ranked 20th in baseball with a save rate of 60.9%, and they have sent 440 relievers to the mound on the campaign.

In their 10,602 innings on the field, the Guardians have accumulated a defensive efficiency of 70.0% (7th in pro baseball). The Cleveland Guardians have turned 100 double plays and have a fielding percentage of .987 (9th in MLB). The Guardians have recorded 1,171 assists, 63 errors and have accumulated 3,534 putouts during this campaign.

During his MLB career, Quantrill has allowed 527 hits while he has totaled 407 strikeouts in 538 innings. Quantrill (33-22 record in his career) is the owner of a 3.90 earned run average while allowing 8.8 hits per nine innings. He has allowed 233 ER's while earning a WHIP of 1.262 and a FIP of 4.2. He has a strikeout to walk ratio of 2.68 and he has gone up against 2,271 batters so far in his pro baseball career.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Tampa Bay (-166)

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