New York Mets vs Tampa Bay Rays Prediction, 5/4/2024 MLB Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: New York Mets vs Tampa Bay Rays

Date: Saturday, May 4, 2024

Location: Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, FL

TV: Sportsnet New York

Odds/Point Spread: New York (+132) Tampa Bay (-156)

The Tampa Bay Rays (14-18) will take on the New York Mets (16-15) at Tropicana Field on Saturday. The line on this contest has the Mets at +132 and the Rays are coming in at -156. The over/under is 7.5. The starting pitchers are Luis Severino and Zack Littell.

As a squad, the New York Mets are notching 4.4 runs per game, which is 17th in baseball. They have tallied 135 runs scored while holding a team on-base percentage of .314. The Mets have tallied 43 doubles as a unit and have hit 32 balls out of the park. They have accrued 129 RBI's in addition to 250 hits for the season, while their average at the plate sits at .237. New York is slugging .370 and have been rung up 233 times, while drawing a walk on 104 occasions.

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They have earned a strikeout to walk ratio of 2.15 and their pitching staff has a collective WHIP of 1.26. Mets pitchers have relinquished 18 home runs in addition to 128 runs in total (13th in MLB). New York has conceded 218 hits (7.0 per 9 innings) in addition to 107 earned runs. The Mets are sitting with a team ERA of 3.43 this year (7th in the league), and their staff has struck out 292 hitters. They have walked 136 hitters and their FIP is 3.52 as a team on the campaign.

The Mets relief pitchers have a save percentage of 72.7% and stepped onto the hill in 29 save situations. The bullpen pitchers have inherited 40 runners this year with 30.0% of them ended up crossing the plate. Mets pitchers have gone to the mound with players on base 32 times as well as having 43 appearances in high leverage situations. The Mets have dispatched 105 relievers to the hill so far this year. The bullpen have a total of 18 holds this year (13th in the league). They have earned 8 saves so far this year and have blown 3 of 11 save opportunities.

The New York Mets have earned 843 putouts on the campaign, in addition to 253 assists and 20 errors. Their fielding percentage is holding at .982 which has them ranked 23rd in professional baseball, and they have turned 27 double plays. The Mets have turned 70.7% of baseballs in play into outs out of their 2,529 innings on the diamond, which has them sitting at 12th in professional baseball.

Severino has taken the mound for 762 innings and has totaled 819 strikeouts during his career. His earned run average is 3.72 (315 earned runs allowed) and he has a career WHIP of 1.179. He has given up 673 base knocks (7.9 hits per nine innings) and has 226 walks. Severino (56-39 career win-loss record) has earned a FIP of 3.70 and he has gone up against 3,165 batters in the majors.

The Rays hold a team SLG% of .352 and they average 3.75 runs per outing (23rd in the league). They have hit 40 doubles, while getting a free base 83 times as well as recording 120 runs. Tampa Bay has hit 26 long balls on the year to go along with 108 RBIs. They have been rung up on 290 instances (7th in the league) and have notched a total of 256 hits. The Tampa Bay Rays have compiled a team on-base percentage of .301 in addition to a batting average of .238 for the season.

The Rays have a team WHIP of 1.336 and have a FIP of 4.28 as a team on the season. They currently have a strikeout to walk ratio of 8.80 (279 strikeouts vs 102 bases on balls). They are currently ranked 27th in MLB as a pitching staff in total hits allowed with 279. They have relinquished 42 homers and they allow 5.14 runs per 9 innings (25th in the league). The Tampa Bay pitching staff have given up 163 runs so far this year and come in with a team ERA of 4.64 (147 earned runs surrendered).

With 41 save situations, the Rays have 23 holds and also 8 blown saves. Tampa Bay has called on bullpen pitchers to enter the game in 17 save chances and they have earned 9 saves. Their relief pitchers have come in 43 times in high leverage situations and also on 23 occasions with base runners. Tampa Bay relievers hold an inherited score rate of 21.2% out of 33 inherited runners. They sit at 25th in baseball with a save rate of 52.9%, and they have sent 98 relievers to the mound for the year.

In 2,571 innings played, the Rays have a defensive efficiency of 68.9% (22nd in MLB). The Tampa Bay Rays have gotten 21 double plays and have accounted for a fielding rate of .986 (12th in pro baseball). The Rays have accrued 235 assists, 16 errors and have 857 putouts so far this season.

Littell (17-13 career mark) holds a 4.00 earned run average while conceding 9.2 hits per nine innings. His strikeout to walk ratio is 3.38 and he has gone up against 1,240 hitters in his pro baseball career. He has conceded 130 ER's while earning a WHIP of 1.285 and having a FIP of 4.2. In his pro baseball career, Littell has allowed 299 base knocks while earning 260 K's in 292 frames.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Tampa Bay (-156)

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