Tampa Bay Rays vs Los Angeles Dodgers Prediction, 10/20/2020 MLB Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Tampa Bay Rays vs Los Angeles Dodgers

Date: Tuesday, October 20, 2020

Location: Globe Life Field in Arlington, TX

TV: FOX

Odds/Point Spread: Rays (+155) Dodgers (-165)

Mookie Betts and the Los Angeles Dodgers (43-17, 1st in NL West) play the Tampa Bay Rays (40-20, 1st in AL East) at Globe Life Field on Tuesday in Game 1 of the World Series.  Both teams advanced by winning 7 game series with no breaks, so this World Series may be a battle of the bullpens. The Dodgers open this contest at -165 while the Rays are coming in at +155. The O/U opens at 8. The expected starting pitchers will be Tyler Glasnow and Clayton Kershaw.

Key Tampa Bay Rays Injuries

10/11/2020 Cody Reed RP Finger Expected to be out until at least Oct 19
8/29/2020 Chaz Roe RP Elbow Expected to be out until at least Feb 1, 2021
8/29/2020 Jalen Beeks RP Elbow Expected to be out until at least Sep 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

Key Los Angeles Dodgers Injuries

10/6/2020 Edwin Uceta RP Suspension Suspended until Oct 5
9/30/2020 Caleb Ferguson RP Elbow Out for the season
9/27/2020 Zach Reks LF Undisclosed Out for the season
7/21/2020 Jimmy Nelson SP Back Expected to be out until at least Feb 1, 2021

Useful Pitching Statistics

The Rays had a 40-20 overall record this season. Glasnow has taken the hill for 315 frames and has 383 K's during his pro baseball career. His ERA is 4.43 (155 earned runs allowed) and his WHIP is 1.337. He has allowed 275 base knocks (7.9 hits per nine innings) and has 146 free passes. Glasnow (15-18 career record) has a FIP of 4.10 while he has faced 1,346 batters in the majors. 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 bullpen and they've struck out 263 hitters and walked 87 batters. 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 collectively have given up 475 base hits and 209 earned runs. They have allowed 70 home runs this season, ranking them 19th in the league. Tampa Bay as a pitching staff has walked 168 batters and struck out 552. They have walked 2.9 men per 9 innings while striking out 9.4 per 9. They have a team WHIP of 1.22 and their FIP as a unit is 3.94.

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

Hitting Statistics

As a team Tampa Bay is hitting .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 game. Brandon Lowe is hitting .269 with an on-base percentage of .362. He has 52 hits this season in 193 at bats with 37 runs batted in. He has a slugging percentage of .554 and an OPS+ of 152. Willy Adames is hitting .259 this year and he has an on-base percentage of .332. He has totaled 48 hits and he has driven in 23 men in 185 at bats. His OPS+ is 124 while his slugging percentage is at .481. The Rays have 470 hits, including 105 doubles and 80 home runs. Tampa Bay has walked 243 times so far this season and they have struck out 608 times as a unit. They have left 416 men on base and have a team OPS of .753. They score 4.82 runs per contest and have scored a total of 289 runs this year.

Useful Pitching Statistics

Los Angeles has a 43-17 overall mark this year. Kershaw (175-76 win-loss record in his career) has a 2.43 ERA while giving up 6.8 hits per nine innings. He has a SO/W ratio of 4.32 and he has gone up against 9,179 hitters during his MLB career. In his pro baseball career, Kershaw has given up 1,756 base hits while earning 2,526 K's in 2,332 innings pitched. He has surrendered a total of 631 ER's while earning a WHIP of 1.004 and having a FIP of 2.8. The bullpen has an earned run average of 2.74 and they have given up 199 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .188 against the Dodgers bullpen. Their relievers have struck out 258 batters and walked 75 opposing hitters. As a team, Los Angeles allows 7.1 hits per nine innings while striking out 8.6 batters per nine innings. They are 1st in the league in team earned run average at 3.02. The Dodgers pitchers as a team have surrendered 424 base knocks and 181 earned runs this season. They have given up 66 home runs this year, which ranks 29th in Major League Baseball. Los Angeles as a staff has walked 145 hitters and struck out 517 batters. They give up a walk 2.4 times per 9 innings while they strike out 8.6 per 9. Their team WHIP is 1.06 while their FIP as a staff is 3.79.

Hitting Statistics

As a team, they are batting .256, good for 11th in the league. The Dodgers hold a .483 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .338, which is good for 5th in baseball. They rank 8th in MLB with 8.7 hits per contest. Mookie Betts comes into this matchup batting .292 with an OBP of .366. He has 64 hits this year along with 39 RBI in 219 AB's. He maintains a slugging percentage of .562 with an OPS+ of 149. Cody Bellinger is hitting .239 this season and he has an OBP of .333. He has collected 51 hits in 213 at bats while driving in 30 runs. He has an OPS+ of 113 and a slugging percentage of .455. The Dodgers as a unit have 523 base hits, including 97 doubles and 118 homers. Los Angeles has walked 228 times this year and they have struck out on 471 occasions. They have had 391 men left on base and have an OPS of .821. They have scored 5.82 runs per game and totaled 349 runs this season.

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

Josh's Pick: Take the Dodgers (-165)

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