Tampa Bay Rays vs New York Mets Prediction, 5/18/2023 MLB Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Tampa Bay Rays vs New York Mets

Date: Thursday, May 18, 2023

Location: Citi Field in Queens, NY

TV: SportsNet NY

Citi Field is the location where the New York Mets (20-23) will take on the Tampa Bay Rays (32-11) on Thursday. The pitchers taking the mound are Taj Bradley and Tylor Megill.

As a unit, the Tampa Bay Rays are notching 6.2 runs per game, which has them sitting at 1st in baseball. They have racked up 268 runs scored and have an on-base percentage of .349. The Rays have tallied 82 doubles as a unit and have hit 84 baseballs out of the park. They have tallied 257 runs batted in in addition to 405 hits for the season, while their team batting average comes in at .275. Tampa Bay has a slugging rate of .509 and have been called out on strikes 361 times, while drawing a walk on 147 occasions.

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They have a strikeout to walk ratio of 2.64 and the pitching staff has a collective WHIP of 1.15. Rays pitchers have relinquished 36 long balls and 145 runs in total (1st in the league). Tampa Bay has allowed 302 base hits (7.1 per 9 innings) and also 140 earned runs. The Rays hold a team earned run average of 3.30 this year (2nd in MLB), and the staff has struck out 362 hitters. Their pitching staff has walked 137 batters and their FIP is 3.86 as a team so far this season.

Rays bullpen pitchers have gone to the mound with opponents on base 30 times as well as having 38 appearances in high leverage situations. The relief pitchers have accumulated 20 holds on the year (22nd in baseball). The Rays relief pitchers have earned a save rate of 61.1% and has stepped onto the mound in 38 save situations. They have 11 saves on the campaign and have not converted 7 of 18 chances to get a save. The relievers have inherited 47 runners on the campaign and 38.3% of those players crossed home plate. The Rays have dispatched 135 relievers to the mound for the season.

The Tampa Bay Rays are sitting with 1,145 putouts this season, in addition to 412 assists and 15 errors. Their fielding percentage is currently at .990 which has them ranked 3rd in the majors, and they have turned 34 double plays. The Rays have turned 72.9% of baseballs in play into outs out of their 3,435 innings, which ranks them 1st in baseball.

Bradley has thrown 15 frames and has racked up 23 strikeouts during his pro baseball career. His ERA is 3.52 (6 ER's allowed) and he has a WHIP of 0.913. He has surrendered 12 base hits (7.0 hits per nine innings) with 2 free passes. Bradley (3-0 career mark) has a FIP of 2.59 and he has faced 60 batters in the majors.

New York has tallied 44 home runs so far this season as well as 171 runs batted in. They have hit 64 doubles, while walking 154 times as well as scoring 179 runs. The New York Mets have recorded an OBP of .322 in addition to a team batting average of .240 on the season. The Mets have a slugging percentage of .382 and they are scoring 4.16 runs per contest (23rd in the league). They have struck out on 320 instances (28th in baseball) and have notched a total of 341 base hits.

The Mets are sitting with a team WHIP of 1.370 in addition to having a FIP of 4.96 as a team so far this season. They are currently ranked 14th in baseball as a pitching staff in total hits surrendered with 345. The New York pitching staff have surrendered 198 runs so far this year while having a team ERA of 4.77 (196 earned runs yielded). Their K/BB ratio comes in at 8.60 (354 strikeouts vs 162 free passes). They have relinquished 58 long balls and they surrender 4.82 runs per 9 innings (19th in MLB).

New York bullpen pitchers hold an inherited score rate of 24.0% out of 50 inherited base runners. Their bullpen pitchers have come in 41 times in high leverage situations and also on 33 occasions with runners on. With 46 save situations, the Mets have accumulated 31 holds in addition to 3 blown saves. They are ranked 1st in the league with a save rate of 80.0%, and they have dispatched 133 relief pitchers to the hill on the season. New York has called on relievers to step onto the hill in 15 save opportunities and they have recorded 12 saves.

In their 3,330 innings on the field, the Mets have a defensive efficiency of 70.5% (7th in the majors). The New York Mets have turned 36 double plays and have a fielding percentage of .991 (2nd in MLB). The Mets have racked up 356 assists, 14 errors and have a tally of 1,110 putouts during this campaign.

So far in his career, Megill has surrendered 173 base hits while accumulating 181 K's in 177 innings pitched. He has given up a total of 90 earned runs while earning a WHIP of 1.325 and a FIP of 4.6. He has a K/BB ratio of 2.92 and he has gone up against 758 batters in his MLB career. Megill (12-10 career win-loss mark) has earned a 4.57 earned run average and has given up 8.8 hits per 9 innings.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take New York

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