Boston Red Sox at Tampa Bay Rays MLB Picks & Predictions 9/21/2019

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Tropicana Field

Get todays MLB odds and lines on this game.

Probable Pitchers: Brian Johnson vs. Tyler Glasnow

Tropicana Field is the site where Austin Meadows and the Tampa Bay Rays (90-63, 2nd in AL East) will take on the Boston Red Sox (80-72, 3rd in AL East) on Saturday. The Red Sox open this game at +184 while the Rays are coming in at -220. The O/U is set at 8.5.

The Red Sox have been a decent play for baseball bettors, having gone 80-72-0 SU. Tampa Bay covers 58.8% of the time, going 90-63-0 straight up.

Valuable Boston Red Sox Betting Trends

The Red Sox have been a terrible Under play for O/U wagerers, having gone 83-65-4.

Boston covers 58.1% of the time away from home, having gone 43-31-0 straight up.

Important Tampa Bay Rays Betting Trends

The Rays are covering 57.3% of the time at Tropicana Field, going 43-32-0 SU.

The Rays have been a pretty good Over play for O/U wagerers, having gone 74-71-8.

Related: Gambling 101 - MLB Betting Tips - Tony George of Doc's Sports

Key Boston Red Sox Injuries

9/19/2019 Sam Travis 1B Concussion Probable for Sep 20
9/19/2019 Michael Chavis 1B Oblique Out for the season
9/18/2019 J.D DH Groin Probable for Sep 20
9/18/2019 Steven Wright RP Elbow Out for the season
9/18/2019 David Price SP Wrist Out for the season
9/17/2019 Heath Hembree RP Elbow Expected to be out until at least Sep 24
9/17/2019 Mookie Betts RF Foot Probable for Sep 20
9/1/2019 Chris Sale SP Elbow Out for the season
8/11/2019 Steve Pearce 1B Knee Out for the season
8/7/2019 Dustin Pedroia 2B Knee Out for the season
11/1/2019 Austin Maddox RP Shoulder Out for the season

Key Tampa Bay Rays Injuries

9/18/2019 Brandon Lowe 2B Quadriceps Expected to be out until at least Sep 25
9/17/2019 Yonny Chirinos SP Finger Expected to be out until at least Sep 21
9/11/2019 Hoby Milner RP Neck Out for the season
9/5/2019 Jose Alvarado RP Elbow Out for the season
8/30/2019 Yandy Diaz 3B Foot Out for the season
4/2/2019 Jose Mujica SP Elbow Out for the season

Useful Pitching Statistics

The Red Sox have a 80-72 overall record this season. Starting pitcher Brian Johnson has a 1-3 record with an earned run average of 6.21 and a WHIP of 1.86 this season. He has 28 strikeouts over his 37.2 innings pitched and he's given up 51 hits. He's allowed 12.2 hits per 9 innings and he has a FIP of 5.31. The bullpen has an earned run average of 4.29 and they have given up 556 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .234 against the bullpen and they've struck out 723 hitters and walked 296 batters. As a team, Boston allows 8.7 hits per nine innings while striking out 10 batters per nine innings. They are 19th in the league in team earned run average at 4.63. The Red Sox pitchers collectively have given up 1,334 base hits and 710 earned runs. They have allowed 199 home runs this season, ranking them 20th in the league. Boston as a pitching staff has walked 562 batters and struck out 1,532. They have walked 3.7 men per 9 innings while striking out 10 per 9. They have a team WHIP of 1.37 and their FIP as a unit is 4.25.

Related: Get MLB tips & picks on all of today's games

Hitting Statistics

As a team Boston is hitting .269, good for 4th in the league. The Red Sox hold a .468 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .340, which is good for 3rd in baseball. They rank 1st in MLB with 9.6 hits per game. J.D. Martinez is hitting .301 with an on-base percentage of .380. He has 163 hits this season in 541 at bats with 97 runs batted in. He has a slugging percentage of .564 and an OPS+ of 139. Rafael Devers is hitting .311 this year and he has an on-base percentage of .362. He has totaled 188 hits and he has driven in 110 men in 605 at bats. His OPS+ is 132 while his slugging percentage is at .555. The Red Sox have 1,456 hits, including 330 doubles and 231 home runs. Boston has walked 557 times so far this season and they have struck out 1,278 times as a unit. They have left 1,098 men on base and have a team OPS of .808. They score 5.56 runs per contest and have scored a total of 845 runs this year.

Useful Pitching Statistics

Tampa Bay has a 90-63 overall mark this year. With an earned run average of 2.03, Tyler Glasnow has a 6-1 record and a 0.94 WHIP. He has 65 strikeouts over the 53.1 innings he's pitched. He also has given up 38 hits. He's allowing 6.4 hits per nine innings and his FIP stands at 2.43. The bullpen has an earned run average of 3.74 and they have given up 629 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .230 against the Rays bullpen. Their relievers have struck out 755 batters and walked 246 opposing hitters. As a team, Tampa Bay allows 7.8 hits per nine innings while striking out 9.8 batters per nine innings. They are 3rd in the league in team earned run average at 3.66. The Rays pitchers as a team have surrendered 1,208 base knocks and 565 earned runs this season. They have given up 170 home runs this year, which ranks 30th in Major League Baseball. Tampa Bay as a staff has walked 423 hitters and struck out 1,511 batters. They give up a walk 2.7 times per 9 innings while they strike out 9.8 per 9. Their team WHIP is 1.18 while their FIP as a staff is 3.66.

Hitting Statistics

As a team, they are batting .255, good for 12th in the league. The Rays hold a .432 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .326, which is good for 13th in baseball. They rank 10th in MLB with 8.8 hits per contest. Austin Meadows comes into this matchup batting .289 with an OBP of .359. He has 144 hits this year along with 88 RBI in 499 AB's. He maintains a slugging percentage of .567 with an OPS+ of 143. Tommy Pham is hitting .280 this season and he has an OBP of .376. He has collected 150 hits in 535 at bats while driving in 66 runs. He has an OPS+ of 123 and a slugging percentage of .460. The Rays as a unit have 1,354 base hits, including 278 doubles and 202 homers. Tampa Bay has walked 512 times this year and they have struck out on 1,387 occasions. They have had 1,072 men left on base and have an OPS of .758. They have scored 4.78 runs per game and totaled 732 runs this season.

Who will win tonight's Red Sox/Rays MLB game against the spread?

Tony's Pick: Take the Red Sox (+184)

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