Tampa Bay Rays at Houston Astros MLB Picks & Predictions 8/29/2019

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Minute Maid Park

Get todays MLB odds and lines on this game.

Probable Pitchers: Trevor Richards vs. Zack Greinke

Minute Maid Park is the site where Michael Brantley and the Houston Astros (86-47, 1st in AL West) will take on the Tampa Bay Rays (76-57, 2nd in AL East) on Thursday. The Rays open this game at +215 while the Astros are priced at -260. The total opens at 8.5.

The Rays have been a strong option for baseball wagerers, having gone 76-57-0 SU. Houston is covering 64.7% of the time, going 86-47-0 straight up.

Valuable Tampa Bay Rays Betting Trends

The Rays have been a pretty good Under pick for O/U bettors, having gone 62-63-8.

The Rays are covering 61.8% of the time as the road team, having gone 42-26-0 straight up.

Important Houston Astros Betting Trends

The Astros are covering 75.8% of the time at Minute Maid Park, going 50-16-0 SU.

The Astros have been a pretty good Under pick for O/U bettors, having gone 58-70-5.

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Key Tampa Bay Rays Injuries

8/27/2019 Kevin Kiermaier CF Ribs Probable for Aug 28
8/27/2019 Jose Alvarado RP Elbow Expected to be out until at least Sep 10
8/25/2019 Tyler Glasnow SP Forearm Expected to be out until at least Sep 9
8/25/2019 Blake Snell SP Elbow Expected to be out until at least Sep 19
8/25/2019 Yonny Chirinos SP Finger Expected to be out until at least Sep 25
8/23/2019 Brandon Lowe 2B Quadriceps Out for the season
8/9/2019 Yandy Diaz 3B Foot Out for the season
4/2/2019 Jose Mujica SP Elbow Out for the season

Key Houston Astros Injuries

8/22/2019 Ryan Pressly RP Knee Expected to be out until at least Sep 20
8/22/2019 Carlos Correa SS Back Expected to be out until at least Sep 8
8/21/2019 Josh James RP Shoulder Expected to be out until at least Sep 1
8/21/2019 Aaron Sanchez SP Pectoral Expected to be out until at least Sep 5
6/9/2019 Lance McCullers SP Elbow Out for the season

Useful Pitching Statistics

The Rays have a 76-57 overall record this season. Starting pitcher Trevor Richards has a 4-12 record with an earned run average of 4.30 and a WHIP of 1.38 this season. He has 114 strikeouts over his 121.1 innings pitched and he's given up 114 hits. He's allowed 8.5 hits per 9 innings and he has a FIP of 4.58. The bullpen has an earned run average of 3.82 and they have given up 548 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .233 against the bullpen and they've struck out 646 hitters and walked 214 batters. As a team, Tampa Bay allows 7.8 hits per nine innings while striking out 9.8 batters per nine innings. They are 2nd in the league in team earned run average at 3.63. The Rays pitchers collectively have given up 1,051 base hits and 488 earned runs. They have allowed 150 home runs this season, ranking them 30th in the league. Tampa Bay as a pitching staff has walked 373 batters and struck out 1,318. They have walked 2.8 men per 9 innings while striking out 9.8 per 9. They have a team WHIP of 1.18 and their FIP as a unit is 3.68.

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

Hitting Statistics

As a team Tampa Bay is hitting .252, good for 14th in the league. The Rays hold a .427 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .325, which is good for 13th in baseball. They rank 12th in MLB with 8.8 hits per game. Austin Meadows is hitting .280 with an on-base percentage of .348. He has 117 hits this season in 418 at bats with 67 runs batted in. He has a slugging percentage of .531 and an OPS+ of 129. Tommy Pham is hitting .269 this year and he has an on-base percentage of .371. He has totaled 123 hits and he has driven in 55 men in 458 at bats. His OPS+ is 118 while his slugging percentage is at .454. The Rays have 1,168 hits, including 242 doubles and 174 home runs. Tampa Bay has walked 451 times so far this season and they have struck out 1,216 times as a unit. They have left 953 men on base and have a team OPS of .752. They score 4.62 runs per contest and have scored a total of 614 runs this year.

Useful Pitching Statistics

Houston has a 86-47 overall mark this year. With an earned run average of 2.83, Zack Greinke has a 14-4 record and a 1.00 WHIP. He has 150 strikeouts over the 171.2 innings he's pitched. He also has given up 144 hits. He's allowing 7.5 hits per nine innings and his FIP stands at 3.31. The bullpen has an earned run average of 3.73 and they have given up 382 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .225 against the Astros bullpen. Their relievers have struck out 482 batters and walked 163 opposing hitters. As a team, Houston allows 7.5 hits per nine innings while striking out 10 batters per nine innings. They are 4th in the league in team earned run average at 3.67. The Astros pitchers as a team have surrendered 992 base knocks and 487 earned runs this season. They have given up 194 home runs this year, which ranks 9th in Major League Baseball. Houston as a staff has walked 373 hitters and struck out 1,329 batters. They give up a walk 2.8 times per 9 innings while they strike out 10 per 9. Their team WHIP is 1.14 while their FIP as a staff is 4.12.

Hitting Statistics

As a team, they are batting .276, good for 2nd in the league. The Astros hold a .490 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .351, which is good for 1st in baseball. They rank 3rd in MLB with 9.5 hits per contest. Michael Brantley comes into this matchup batting .338 with an OBP of .398. He has 162 hits this year along with 80 RBI in 480 AB's. He maintains a slugging percentage of .546 with an OPS+ of 148. George Springer is hitting .292 this season and he has an OBP of .377. He has collected 114 hits in 391 at bats while driving in 68 runs. He has an OPS+ of 144 and a slugging percentage of .560. The Astros as a unit have 1,265 base hits, including 266 doubles and 225 homers. Houston has walked 512 times this year and they have struck out on 945 occasions. They have had 952 men left on base and have an OPS of .842. They have scored 5.56 runs per game and totaled 739 runs this season.

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

Tony's Pick: Take the Rays (+215)

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