Texas Rangers vs Tampa Bay Rays Prediction, 4/1/2024 MLB Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Texas Rangers vs Tampa Bay Rays

Date: Monday, April 1, 2024

Location: Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, FL

TV: Bally Sports Southwest

The Texas Rangers (90-72 last year) are on their way to Tropicana Field on Monday where they will attempt to defeat the Tampa Bay Rays (99-63 last season). The men taking the mound are Dane Dunning and Ryan Pepiot.

Texas had a slugging percentage of .452 and struck out 1,416 times, while taking a walk on 599 occasions. They accumulated 845 runs batted in in addition to 1,470 base knocks in the prior season, and their batting average sat at .263. The Rangers recorded 326 doubles as a team and knocked 233 baseballs out of the stadium. They racked up 881 runs while holding a team OBP of .337. As a unit, the Texas Rangers put up 5.4 runs per game, which put them at 3rd in MLB.

Get all of our Free MLB Picks

The Rangers held a team ERA of 4.28 in the prior season (18th in the league), and their staff rung up 1,351 batters. Rangers pitchers gave up 198 home runs and 716 total runs (14th in baseball). Their pitching staff walked 491 batters and their FIP was 4.32 as a squad in the previous season. Texas allowed 1,330 hits (8.3 per 9 innings) as well as 683 earned runs. Their strikeout to walk ratio was at 2.75 and their pitching staff had a team WHIP of 1.27.

Rangers pitchers went to the mound with players on base 163 times in addition to having 160 contests in high leverage situations. The bullpen finished with 80 holds over the course of last season (20th in MLB). The Rangers bullpen accumulated a save percentage of 47.6% and stepped onto the mound in 146 save situations. They earned 30 saves last season and blew 33 of their 63 chances to save the game. The bullpen inherited 273 base runners last season with 31.5% of them ended up scoring. The Rangers dispatched 467 relievers to the hill for the previous season.

The Texas Rangers finished with 4,309 putouts last year, as well as 1,423 assists and 57 errors. Their fielding percentage held steady at .990 which ranked 2nd in baseball, and had a total of 143 double plays. The Rangers turned 70.3% of balls hit into play into outs out of their 12,927 innings on the diamond, ranking them 4th in baseball.

Dunning has thrown 477 innings and has earned 426 punch outs during his MLB career. His earned run average is 4.16 (221 ER's allowed) and his WHIP is 1.350. He has surrendered 472 base knocks (8.9 hits per 9 innings) with 173 free passes. Dunning (23-25 win-loss mark in his career) has earned a FIP of 4.23 while he has gone up against 2,046 batters in the majors.

Tampa Bay tallied 230 home runs for the prior year and 827 runs batted in. They put up 282 two-baggers, while taking a walk 514 times and racking up 860 runs. The Tampa Bay Rays tallied an OBP of .331 as well as a team batting average of .260 over the course of last year. The Rays held a team SLG% of .445 and they averaged 5.31 runs per game (4th in MLB). They were rung up on 1,420 occasions (13th in the league) and were sitting with 1,432 hits.

The Rays had a team WHIP of 1.178 in addition to having a FIP of 3.81 as a squad over the course of the prior season. They had a strikeout to walk ratio of 9.40 (1,507 strikeouts vs 439 bases on balls). They finished at 2nd in the league as a pitching staff in total hits surrendered with 1,259. They surrendered 177 homers and they yielded 4.15 runs per 9 innings (5th in the league). The Tampa Bay pitching staff given up 665 runs last season while having a team ERA of 3.86 (619 earned runs conceded).

Tampa Bay had bullpen pitchers step onto the hill in 76 save opportunities and they came away with 45 saves. They were sitting at 20th in baseball holding a save rate of 59.2%, and they sent 536 relief pitchers to the hill last season. Their relief pitchers came in 163 times in high leverage situations in addition to 121 occasions with base runners. Tampa Bay relievers held an inherited score percentage of 28.4% out of 183 inherited runners. With 155 save situations, the Rays had 78 holds in addition to 31 blown saves.

In 12,978 innings on the diamond, the Rays held a defensive efficiency of 70.3% (5th in professional baseball). The Tampa Bay Rays turned 114 double plays and had a fielding percentage of .987 (9th in professional baseball). The Rays accrued 1,401 assists, 74 errors and a tally of 4,326 putouts over the course of the prior season.

Thus far in his career, Pepiot has allowed 53 hits while tallying 80 K's in 78 innings pitched. He has surrendered a total of 24 ER's while holding a WHIP of 1.085 and a FIP of 4.8. He has a strikeout to walk ratio of 2.50 and he has faced 319 batters in his pro baseball career. Pepiot (5-1 career record) holds a 2.76 ERA while giving up 6.1 hits per nine innings.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Texas

Get $60 worth of FREE premium member picks. No Obligation. No Salesman. No Credit Card. Fast Sign up with Instant Access Click Here