Tampa Bay Rays vs Oakland Athletics Expert Wildcard Picks 10/2/2019

Wednesday, October 2, 2019

Oakland Coliseum

Get todays MLB odds and lines on this game.

Probable Pitchers: Charlie Morton vs. Sean Manaea

Marcus Semien and the Oakland Athletics (97-65, 2nd in AL West) host the Tampa Bay Rays (96-66, 2nd in AL East) at Oakland Coliseum on Wednesday in the AL Wildcard game. The line on this game has the Rays priced at +110 and the Athletics are at -134. The O/U opens at 8.

The Rays have been a strong choice for wagerers, having gone 96-66-0 SU. Oakland covers 59.9% of the time, going 97-65-0 straight up.

Valuable Tampa Bay Rays Betting Trends

The Rays have been a less than ideal Under bet for over/under wagerers, having gone 78-75-9.

Tampa Bay covers 59.3% of the time as the away team, having gone 48-33-0 straight up.

Important Oakland Athletics Betting Trends

Oakland covers 65.8% of the time at Oakland Coliseum, going 52-27-0 SU.

The Athletics have been a pretty good Under bet for over/under wagerers, having gone 71-88-3.

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

Key Tampa Bay Rays Injuries

9/23/2019 Eric Sogard 2B Foot Out for the season
9/11/2019 Hoby Milner RP Neck Expected to be out until at least Feb 1, 2020
9/5/2019 Jose Alvarado RP Elbow Expected to be out until at least Nov 1
4/2/2019 Jose Mujica SP Elbow Expected to be out until at least Mar 1, 2020

Key Oakland Athletics Injuries

9/29/2019 Robbie Grossman LF Shoulder Out for the season
9/24/2019 Blake Treinen RP Back Out for the season
9/24/2019 Lou Trivino RP Ribs Out for the season
9/9/2019 Luis Barrera LF Shoulder Expected to be out until at least Feb 1, 2020
5/15/2019 Daniel Gossett RP Elbow Expected to be out until at least Feb 1, 2020

Useful Pitching Statistics

The Rays have a 96-66 overall record this season. Starting pitcher Charlie Morton has a 16-6 record with an earned run average of 3.05 and a WHIP of 1.08 this season. He has 240 strikeouts over his 194.2 innings pitched and he's given up 154 hits. He's allowed 7.1 hits per 9 innings and he has a FIP of 2.81. The bullpen has an earned run average of 3.71 and they have given up 668 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .228 against the bullpen and they've struck out 825 hitters and walked 262 batters. As a team, Tampa Bay allows 7.8 hits per nine innings while striking out 9.9 batters per nine innings. They are 2nd in the league in team earned run average at 3.65. The Rays pitchers collectively have given up 1,274 base hits and 598 earned runs. They have allowed 181 home runs this season, ranking them 30th in the league. Tampa Bay as a pitching staff has walked 453 batters and struck out 1,621. They have walked 2.8 men per 9 innings while striking out 9.9 per 9. They have a team WHIP of 1.17 and their FIP as a unit is 3.65.

Related: Get MLB predictions on all of today's games

Hitting Statistics

As a team Tampa Bay is hitting .254, good for 12th in the league. The Rays hold a .431 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .325, which is good for 13th in baseball. They rank 11th in MLB with 8.8 hits per game. Tommy Pham is hitting .273 with an on-base percentage of .369. He has 155 hits this season in 567 at bats with 68 runs batted in. He has a slugging percentage of .450 and an OPS+ of 119. Austin Meadows is hitting .291 this year and he has an on-base percentage of .364. He has totaled 154 hits and he has driven in 89 men in 530 at bats. His OPS+ is 143 while his slugging percentage is at .558. The Rays have 1,427 hits, including 291 doubles and 217 home runs. Tampa Bay has walked 542 times so far this season and they have struck out 1,493 times as a unit. They have left 1,130 men on base and have a team OPS of .757. They score 4.75 runs per contest and have scored a total of 769 runs this year.

Useful Pitching Statistics

Oakland has a 97-65 overall mark this year. With an earned run average of 1.21, Sean Manaea has a 4-0 record and a 0.78 WHIP. He has 30 strikeouts over the 29.2 innings he's pitched. He also has given up 16 hits. He's allowing 4.9 hits per nine innings and his FIP stands at 3.42. The bullpen has an earned run average of 3.89 and they have given up 498 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .228 against the Athletics bullpen. Their relievers have struck out 603 batters and walked 221 opposing hitters. As a team, Oakland allows 8.2 hits per nine innings while striking out 8 batters per nine innings. They are 6th in the league in team earned run average at 3.97. The Athletics pitchers as a team have surrendered 1,342 base knocks and 646 earned runs this season. They have given up 201 home runs this year, which ranks 25th in Major League Baseball. Oakland as a staff has walked 477 hitters and struck out 1,299 batters. They give up a walk 2.9 times per 9 innings while they strike out 8 per 9. Their team WHIP is 1.24 while their FIP as a staff is 4.34.

Hitting Statistics

As a team, they are batting .249, good for 16th in the league. The Athletics hold a .448 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .327, which is good for 11th in baseball. They rank 14th in MLB with 8.5 hits per contest. Marcus Semien comes into this matchup batting .285 with an OBP of .369. He has 187 hits this year along with 92 RBI in 657 AB's. He maintains a slugging percentage of .522 with an OPS+ of 138. Matt Chapman is hitting .249 this season and he has an OBP of .342. He has collected 145 hits in 583 at bats while driving in 91 runs. He has an OPS+ of 126 and a slugging percentage of .506. The Athletics as a unit have 1,384 base hits, including 292 doubles and 257 homers. Oakland has walked 578 times this year and they have struck out on 1,338 occasions. They have had 1,081 men left on base and have an OPS of .776. They have scored 5.22 runs per game and totaled 845 runs this season.

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

Josh's Pick: Take the Athletics (-134)

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