Toronto Blue Jays vs Tampa Bay Rays Prediction, 5/24/2023 MLB Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Toronto Blue Jays vs Tampa Bay Rays

Date: Wednesday, May 24, 2023

Location: Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, FL

TV: Bally Sports Sun

Odds/Point Spread: Toronto (+155) Tampa Bay (-180)

The Tampa Bay Rays (35-14) will take on the Toronto Blue Jays (25-23) at Tropicana Field on Wednesday. The odds on this game have the Blue Jays at +155 while the Rays are sitting at -180. The over/under is 8. The pitchers expected to start will be Yusei Kikuchi and Shane McClanahan.

Toronto owns a slugging percentage of .409 and have struck out 388 times, while being walked on 164 occasions. They have recorded 205 RBI's and 431 hits for the season, and their team batting average is at .258. The Blue Jays have tallied 91 two-baggers as a unit and have knocked 52 baseballs out of the park. They have 218 runs scored while holding a team on-base percentage of .329. As a squad, the Toronto Blue Jays are recording 4.5 runs per game, which has them sitting at 13th in the league.

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Their K/BB ratio is 2.83 and the pitching staff has earned a collective WHIP of 1.27. Blue Jays pitchers have surrendered 65 home runs and 213 runs in total (15th in MLB). Toronto has conceded 388 base hits (8.2 per 9 innings) and 189 earned runs. The Blue Jays have compiled a team earned run average of 3.98 over the course of the season (11th in MLB), and their staff has struck out 441 batters. They have walked 156 opposing players and their FIP sits at 4.43 as a squad this year.

The Blue Jays have dispatched 160 relief pitchers to the hill on the season. The relievers have inherited 83 runners on the year and 24.1% of those runners ended up crossing the plate. They have tallied 12 saves this year and have blown 5 of 17 chances to get a save. The Blue Jays relievers have a save rate of 70.6% and stepped onto the hill in 42 save situations. The relievers have earned 25 holds this year (17th in the league). Blue Jays relief pitchers have stepped onto the hill with runners on 57 times in addition to having 51 appearances in high leverage situations.

The Toronto Blue Jays have accumulated 1,283 putouts for the season, in addition to 388 assists and 27 errors. Their fielding percentage sits at .984 which puts them in 20th in pro baseball, and have accumulated 37 double plays. The Blue Jays have turned 69.8% of balls in play into outs out of 3,849 innings on the field, which ranks them 11th in pro baseball.

Kikuchi (26-32 career win-loss record) has earned a FIP of 5.13 and he has gone up against 2,230 hitters in the major leagues. He has allowed 523 base knocks (9.2 hits per 9 innings) with 202 walks. His earned run average is 4.93 (281 ER's allowed) and he has a WHIP of 1.414. Kikuchi has thrown 512 innings and has accounted for 493 punch outs in his career.

Tampa Bay has 94 HRs over the course of the season to go along with 284 runs batted in. They have tallied 91 doubles, while walking 167 times and racking up 296 runs. The Tampa Bay Rays hold a team on-base percentage of .346 and a batting average of .271 over the course of the season. The Rays have a team slugging percentage of .502 and they average 6.04 runs per contest (2nd in the league). They have been rung up on 411 occasions (16th in baseball) and have 450 base hits.

The Rays are sitting with a team WHIP of 1.161 with a FIP of 4.03 as a staff this season. They come in at 1st in baseball as a pitching staff in total hits given up with 353. The Tampa Bay pitching staff have allowed 170 runs so far this year while having a team ERA of 3.39 (164 earned runs allowed). They have earned a strikeout to walk ratio of 8.40 (405 strikeouts vs 152 free passes). They have given up 47 dingers and they allow 3.52 runs per 9 innings (1st in baseball).

Tampa Bay relievers have an inherited score rate of 35.8% out of their 53 inherited base runners. Their relief pitchers have come in 46 times in high leverage situations and on 35 occasions with runners on. With 47 save situations, the Rays have tallied 23 holds and 10 blown saves. They sit at 21st in the league holding a save rate of 58.3%, and they have dispatched 155 relievers onto the field on the campaign. Tampa Bay has called on relievers to take the mound in 24 save opportunities and they have tallied 14 saves.

In their 3,915 innings played, the Rays hold a efficiency on defense of 73.0% (1st in baseball). The Tampa Bay Rays have turned 40 double plays and have a fielding percentage of .992 (2nd in baseball). The Rays have recorded 474 assists, 15 errors and have earned a total of 1,305 putouts so far this season.

McClanahan (29-14 career record) holds a 2.78 earned run average and has given up 7.2 hits per 9 innings. His strikeout to walk ratio is 4.03 and he has faced 1,391 hitters so far in his career. He has given up 107 ER's while earning a WHIP of 1.093 and a FIP of 3.2. In his pro baseball career, McClanahan has surrendered 279 hits while earning 403 K's in 346 frames.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Toronto (+155)

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