Houston Astros vs Tampa Bay Rays Prediction, 10/16/2020 MLB Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Houston Astros vs Tampa Bay Rays

Date: Friday, October 16, 2020

Location: Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, FL

TV: TBS

Odds/Point Spread: Astros (+125) Rays (-135)

Tropicana Field is the site where Joey Wendle and the Tampa Bay Rays (40-20, 1st in AL East) will take on the Houston Astros (29-31, 2nd in AL West) on Friday in Game 6 of the ALCS. Tampa Bay leads the series 3-2. Houston won Game 5 on a walk-off home run by Carlos Correa, so they have some momentum going into this one. The Astros open this contest at +125 while the Rays are coming in at -135. The over/under has been set at 8. The expected starting pitchers will be Framber Valdez and Blake Snell.

Key Houston Astros Injuries

10/15/2020 Josh James RP Leg 
10/11/2020 Austin Pruitt RP Elbow Expected to be out until at least Apr 1, 2021
10/7/2020 Brad Peacock RP Shoulder Out for the season
9/30/2020 Roberto Osuna RP Elbow Expected to be out until at least Feb 1, 2021
9/29/2020 Justin Verlander SP Elbow Out for the season
9/29/2020 Chris Devenski RP Elbow Out for the season
9/23/2020 Rogelio Armenteros RP Elbow Expected to be out until at least Feb 1, 2021
8/23/2020 Yordan Alvarez DH Knee Expected to be out until at least Feb 1, 2021

Key Tampa Bay Rays Injuries

10/15/2020 Kevin Kiermaier CF Hand 
10/11/2020 Cody Reed RP Finger Expected to be out until at least Oct 19
8/29/2020 Jalen Beeks RP Elbow Expected to be out until at least Sep 1, 2021
8/29/2020 Chaz Roe RP Elbow Expected to be out until at least Feb 1, 2021
8/22/2020 Yonny Chirinos SP Elbow Expected to be out until at least Feb 1, 2022
8/13/2020 Andrew Kittredge RP Elbow Expected to be out until at least Feb 1, 2022
7/21/2020 Colin Poche RP Elbow Expected to be out until at least Sep 1, 2021

Useful Pitching Statistics

The Astros had a 29-31 overall record this season. Valdez (13-11 career mark) sits with a FIP of 4.08 while going up against 771 batters in the majors. His earned run average is 4.19 (83 ER's allowed) and his career WHIP is 1.364. He has surrendered 159 base knocks (8.0 hits per 9 innings) and has had 84 free passes. Valdez has taken the hill for 178 innings and is sitting with 178 K's in his pro baseball career. The bullpen has an earned run average of 4.39 and they have given up 204 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .214 against the bullpen and they've struck out 225 hitters and walked 118 batters. As a team, Houston allows 8.1 hits per nine innings while striking out 9 batters per nine innings. They are 13th in the league in team earned run average at 4.31. The Astros pitchers collectively have given up 472 base hits and 251 earned runs. They have allowed 70 home runs this season, ranking them 20th in the league. Houston as a pitching staff has walked 217 batters and struck out 526. They have walked 3.7 men per 9 innings while striking out 9 per 9. They have a team WHIP of 1.32 and their FIP as a unit is 4.33.

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

Hitting Statistics

As a team Houston is hitting .240, good for 20th in the league. The Astros hold a .408 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .312, which is good for 22nd in baseball. They rank 17th in MLB with 8.0 hits per game. Carlos Correa is hitting .264 with an on-base percentage of .326. He has 53 hits this season in 201 at bats with 25 runs batted in. He has a slugging percentage of .383 and an OPS+ of 92. Yuli Gurriel is hitting .232 this year and he has an on-base percentage of .274. He has totaled 49 hits and he has driven in 22 men in 211 at bats. His OPS+ is 76 while his slugging percentage is at .384. The Astros have 478 hits, including 103 doubles and 69 home runs. Houston has walked 192 times so far this season and they have struck out 440 times as a unit. They have left 382 men on base and have a team OPS of .720. They score 4.65 runs per contest and have scored a total of 279 runs this year.

Useful Pitching Statistics

In his career, Snell has surrendered 456 base hits and he has 648 strikeouts in 556 innings. He has conceded 200 earned runs while earning a WHIP of 1.237 and a FIP of 3.5. He has a strikeout to walk ratio of 2.79 and he has gone up against 2,292 batters so far in his career. Snell (42-30 career mark) has a 3.24 ERA and has surrendered 7.4 hits per nine innings. The bullpen has an earned run average of 3.37 and they have given up 234 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .209 against the Rays bullpen. Their relievers have struck out 263 batters and walked 87 opposing hitters. As a team, Tampa Bay allows 8.1 hits per nine innings while striking out 9.4 batters per nine innings. They are 3rd in the league in team earned run average at 3.56. The Rays pitchers as a team have surrendered 475 base knocks and 209 earned runs this season. They have given up 70 home runs this year, which ranks 19th in Major League Baseball. Tampa Bay as a staff has walked 168 hitters and struck out 552 batters. They give up a walk 2.9 times per 9 innings while they strike out 9.4 per 9. Their team WHIP is 1.22 while their FIP as a staff is 3.94.

Hitting Statistics

As a team, they are batting .238, good for 21st in the league. The Rays hold a .425 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .328, which is good for 11th in baseball. They rank 20th in MLB with 7.8 hits per contest. Joey Wendle comes into this matchup batting .286 with an OBP of .342. He has 48 hits this year along with 17 RBI in 168 AB's. He maintains a slugging percentage of .435 with an OPS+ of 116. Mike Zunino is hitting .147 this season and he has an OBP of .238. He has collected 11 hits in 75 at bats while driving in 10 runs. He has an OPS+ of 65 and a slugging percentage of .360. The Rays as a unit have 470 base hits, including 105 doubles and 80 homers. Tampa Bay has walked 243 times this year and they have struck out on 608 occasions. They have had 416 men left on base and have an OPS of .753. They have scored 4.82 runs per game and totaled 289 runs this season.

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

Tony's Pick: Take the Astros (+125)

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