Tampa Bay Rays vs Pittsburgh Pirates Prediction, 6/23/2024 MLB Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Tampa Bay Rays vs Pittsburgh Pirates

Date: Sunday, June 23, 2024

Location: PNC Park in Pittsburgh, PA

TV: SportsNet Pittsburgh

PNC Park is the location where the Pittsburgh Pirates (36-38) will attempt to beat the Tampa Bay Rays (36-39) on Sunday. The pitchers taking the mound are Aaron Civale and Paul Skenes.

As a squad, the Tampa Bay Rays are recording 3.9 runs per outing, which ranks them 25th in the league. They have notched a total of 295 runs while holding a team OBP of .307. The Rays have earned 115 two-baggers as a unit and have hit 63 baseballs out of the park. They have earned 274 RBI's in addition to 583 base knocks over the course of the season, and their batting average comes in at .233. Tampa Bay has a slugging percentage of .360 and have been called out on strikes 680 times, while drawing a walk on 237 occasions.

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The Rays hold a team ERA of 4.44 so far this season (24th in baseball), and their staff has rung up 652 batters. Rays pitchers have surrendered 105 home runs and also 365 total runs (25th in the league). Their pitching staff has walked 210 opposing batters and their FIP is 4.32 as a squad so far this year. Tampa Bay has conceded 661 hits (8.8 per 9 innings) and 334 earned runs. They have a strikeout to walk ratio of 3.10 and the pitching staff has a team WHIP of 1.29.

Rays pitchers have entered the contest with runners on base 61 times as well as having 114 appearances in high leverage situations. The relief pitchers have racked up 45 holds for the season (11th in baseball). The Rays bullpen have a save percentage of 59.0% and has come into the game in 86 save situations. They have recorded 23 saves so far this season and have blown 16 of 39 save chances. The relievers have inherited 87 base runners for the year and 32.2% of those players earned a run for their team. The Rays have dispatched 257 relievers to the mound for the season.

The Tampa Bay Rays have accumulated 2,032 putouts at this point in the season, in addition to 570 assists and 39 errors. Their fielding percentage is holding at .985 which has them sitting 13th in the majors, and have a total of 51 double plays. The Rays have converted 69.3% of baseballs in play into outs out of their 6,096 innings on the field, which has them ranked 22nd in MLB.

Civale (33-31 mark in his career) sits with a FIP of 4.07 and he has faced 2,283 batters in the major leagues. He has given up 520 hits (8.5 hits per 9 innings) and has 140 free passes. His earned run average is 4.13 (253 earned runs allowed) and his WHIP is 1.197. Civale has pitched in 551 innings and has accounted for 507 strikeouts during his MLB career.

The Pittsburgh Pirates have earned an OBP of .298 in addition to a batting average of .230 over the course of the season. They have been rung up on 707 occasions (4th in the league) and have tallied 578 base hits. Pittsburgh is sitting with 68 home runs so far this season as well as 288 RBIs. The Pirates have a team slugging % of .360 and they have an average of 4.04 runs per contest (22nd in the league). They have 108 two-baggers, while taking a walk 234 times and putting up 299 runs.

The Pittsburgh pitching staff have relinquished 324 runs for the year while holding an ERA of 3.91 (288 earned runs given up). They have yielded 78 homers and they concede 4.40 runs per 9 innings (16th in the league). The Pirates hold a team WHIP of 1.271 with a FIP of 3.96 as a team this season. They have earned a strikeout to walk ratio of 8.50 (627 strikeouts vs 225 bases on balls). They rank 20th in baseball as a staff in total hits relinquished with 618.

Pittsburgh has called on relievers to step onto the hill in 36 save chances and they have earned 21 saves. They rank 23rd in baseball with a save rate of 58.3%, and they have dispatched 232 bullpen pitchers onto the diamond for the season. Their relievers have taken the field 92 times in high leverage situations and on 67 occasions with runners on. Pittsburgh relief pitchers have an inherited score percentage of 32.0% out of their 100 inherited base runners. With 75 save situations, the Pirates have recorded 38 holds and 15 blown saves.

The Pittsburgh Pirates have turned 56 double plays and have notched a fielding percentage of .985 (16th in the majors). The Pirates have accrued 626 assists, 41 errors and have a total of 1,990 putouts for the year. Out of their 5,970 innings on the diamond, the Pirates are sitting with a defensive efficiency of 69.4% (19th in the majors).

During his MLB career, Skenes has allowed 32 hits while he has earned 53 punch outs in 39 innings pitched. Skenes (4-0 career record) has a 2.30 ERA and has conceded 7.4 hits per nine innings. He has conceded a total of 10 ER's while holding a WHIP of 0.997 and a FIP of 2.3. His K/BB ratio is 7.57 and he has faced 154 batters in his career.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Tampa Bay

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