Tampa Bay Rays vs Baltimore Orioles Prediction, 9/17/2020 MLB Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Tampa Bay Rays vs Baltimore Orioles

Date: Thursday, September 17, 2020

Location: Oriole Park in Baltimore, MD

TV: MASN/SUN

Odds/Point Spread: Rays (-165) Orioles (+152)

Brandon Lowe and the Tampa Bay Rays (31-17, 1st in AL East) head to Oriole Park on Thursday where they'll meet the Baltimore Orioles (21-27, 4th in AL East). The Orioles open this contest at +152 while the Rays are coming in at -165. The total is set at 9.5. The pitchers who are expected to start are Blake Snell and Dean Kremer.

Key Tampa Bay Rays Injuries

9/16/2020 Cody Reed RP Finger Out for the season
9/16/2020 Mike Zunino C Oblique Expected to be out until at least Sep 21
9/13/2020 Ji-Man Choi 1B Hamstring Expected to be out until at least Sep 27
9/11/2020 Yandy Diaz 3B Hamstring Expected to be out until at least Sep 23
9/4/2020 Jose Alvarado RP Shoulder Out for the season
8/29/2020 Jalen Beeks RP Elbow Out for the season
8/29/2020 Chaz Roe RP Elbow Out for the season
8/22/2020 Yonny Chirinos SP Elbow Out for the season
8/13/2020 Andrew Kittredge RP Elbow Out for the season
7/21/2020 Colin Poche RP Elbow Out for the season

Key Baltimore Orioles Injuries

9/14/2020 Chris Davis 1B Kneecap Expected to be out until at least Sep 25
9/12/2020 Anthony Santander RF Oblique Out for the season
9/9/2020 Shawn Armstrong RP Back Expected to be out until at least Sep 22
8/25/2020 Wade LeBlanc SP Elbow Out for the season
8/9/2020 Kohl Stewart SP Opt Out Out for the season
7/14/2020 Richie Martin SS Wrist Out for the season
6/28/2020 Trey Mancini RF Abdomen Out for the season

Useful Pitching Statistics

The Rays have a 31-17 overall record this season. Snell (42-29 career mark) sits with a FIP of 3.52 while going up against 2,251 opposing hitters in the major leagues. His earned run average is 3.24 (196 ER's allowed) and his WHIP is 1.240. He has conceded 448 base hits (7.4 hits per 9 innings) with 228 free passes. Snell has taken the ball for 545 innings and is sitting with 635 strikeouts during his MLB career. The bullpen has an earned run average of 3.63 and they have given up 198 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .215 against the bullpen and they've struck out 215 hitters and walked 76 batters. As a team, Tampa Bay allows 8.4 hits per nine innings while striking out 9.3 batters per nine innings. They are 6th in the league in team earned run average at 3.79. The Rays pitchers collectively have given up 394 base hits and 179 earned runs. They have allowed 58 home runs this season, ranking them 17th in the league. Tampa Bay as a pitching staff has walked 141 batters and struck out 438. They have walked 3 men per 9 innings while striking out 9.3 per 9. They have a team WHIP of 1.26 and their FIP as a unit is 4.07.

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

Hitting Statistics

As a team Tampa Bay is hitting .241, good for 21st in the league. The Rays hold a .433 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .332, which is good for 9th in baseball. They rank 17th in MLB with 8.0 hits per game. Brandon Lowe is hitting .256 with an on-base percentage of .346. He has 40 hits this season in 156 at bats with 30 runs batted in. He has a slugging percentage of .558 and an OPS+ of 145. Yoshi Tsutsugo is hitting .193 this year and he has an on-base percentage of .317. He has totaled 23 hits and he has driven in 21 men in 119 at bats. His OPS+ is 101 while his slugging percentage is at .412. The Rays have 385 hits, including 92 doubles and 66 home runs. Tampa Bay has walked 203 times so far this season and they have struck out 472 times as a unit. They have left 336 men on base and have a team OPS of .765. They score 5.02 runs per contest and have scored a total of 241 runs this year.

Useful Pitching Statistics

The Orioles bullpen has an earned run average of 3.98 and they have given up 176 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .197 against the Orioles bullpen. Their relievers have struck out 202 batters and walked 92 opposing hitters. As a team, Baltimore allows 8.4 hits per nine innings while striking out 8.1 batters per nine innings. They are 15th in the league in team earned run average at 4.46. The Orioles pitchers as a team have surrendered 393 base knocks and 208 earned runs this season. They have given up 66 home runs this year, which ranks 8th in Major League Baseball. Baltimore as a staff has walked 158 hitters and struck out 377 batters. They give up a walk 3.4 times per 9 innings while they strike out 8.1 per 9. Their team WHIP is 1.31 while their FIP as a staff is 4.77.

Hitting Statistics

As a team, they are batting .258, good for 8th in the league. The Orioles hold a .435 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .321, which is good for 17th in baseball. They rank 8th in MLB with 8.8 hits per contest. Renato Nunez comes into this matchup batting .250 with an OBP of .316. He has 43 hits this year along with 25 RBI in 172 AB's. He maintains a slugging percentage of .488 with an OPS+ of 114. José Iglesias is hitting .374 this season and he has an OBP of .391. He has collected 46 hits in 123 at bats while driving in 20 runs. He has an OPS+ of 143 and a slugging percentage of .512. The Orioles as a unit have 420 base hits, including 81 doubles and 66 homers. Baltimore has walked 136 times this year and they have struck out on 414 occasions. They have had 318 men left on base and have an OPS of .756. They have scored 4.73 runs per game and totaled 227 runs this season.

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

Tony's Pick: Take the Rays (-165)

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