Tampa Bay Rays vs New York Mets Prediction, 9/21/2020 MLB Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Tampa Bay Rays vs New York Mets

Date: Monday, September 21, 2020

Location: Citi Field in Queens, NY

TV: SUN/SNY

Odds/Point Spread: Rays (+192) Mets (-230)

Kevin Kiermaier and the Tampa Bay Rays (35-19, 1st in AL East) are headed to Citi Field on Monday where they'll take on the New York Mets (24-29, 4th in NL East). The Mets open this matchup at -230 while the Rays are priced at +192. The over/under is set at 7. The men taking the mound are Pete Fairbanks and Jacob deGrom.

Key Tampa Bay Rays Injuries

9/20/2020 Austin Meadows LF Oblique Out for the season
9/20/2020 Mike Brosseau 1B Undisclosed Probable for Sep 21
9/19/2020 Yandy Diaz 3B Hamstring Expected to be out until at least Sep 25
9/18/2020 Cody Reed RP Finger Out for the season
9/13/2020 Ji-Man Choi 1B Hamstring Expected to be out until at least Sep 27
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 New York Mets Injuries

9/20/2020 Tomas Nido C Undisclosed Expected to be out until at least Sep 20
9/20/2020 Eduardo Nunez RF Knee Expected to be out until at least Sep 20
9/20/2020 Dellin Betances RP Lat Expected to be out until at least Sep 20
9/17/2020 Jed Lowrie 3B Knee Out for the season
9/9/2020 Robert Gsellman SP Ribs Out for the season
8/17/2020 Rene Rivera C Elbow Out for the season
6/28/2020 Noah Syndergaard SP Elbow Out for the season

Useful Pitching Statistics

The Rays have a 35-19 overall record this season. Fairbanks (7-6 win-loss record in his career) is the owner of a FIP of 3.84 and he has gone up against 202 opposing hitters during his time in the majors. His earned run average is 4.70 (23 ER's allowed) and his WHIP is 1.545. He has conceded 46 base hits (9.4 hits per nine innings) and has 22 free passes. Fairbanks has thrown 44 innings and has tallied 61 K's so far in his MLB career. The bullpen has an earned run average of 3.48 and they have given up 212 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .211 against the bullpen and they've struck out 236 hitters and walked 81 batters. As a team, Tampa Bay allows 8.2 hits per nine innings while striking out 9.4 batters per nine innings. They are 6th in the league in team earned run average at 3.68. The Rays pitchers collectively have given up 425 base hits and 191 earned runs. They have allowed 63 home runs this season, ranking them 17th in the league. Tampa Bay as a pitching staff has walked 153 batters and struck out 485. They have walked 3 men per 9 innings while striking out 9.4 per 9. They have a team WHIP of 1.24 and their FIP as a unit is 4.02.

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

Hitting Statistics

As a team Tampa Bay is hitting .240, good for 19th in the league. The Rays hold a .432 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .332, which is good for 8th in baseball. They rank 17th in MLB with 7.9 hits per game. Kevin Kiermaier is hitting .234 with an on-base percentage of .336. He has 29 hits this season in 124 at bats with 21 runs batted in. He has a slugging percentage of .395 and an OPS+ of 104. Willy Adames is hitting .259 this year and he has an on-base percentage of .337. He has totaled 42 hits and he has driven in 18 men in 162 at bats. His OPS+ is 123 while his slugging percentage is at .469. The Rays have 420 hits, including 98 doubles and 72 home runs. Tampa Bay has walked 223 times so far this season and they have struck out 521 times as a unit. They have left 373 men on base and have a team OPS of .764. They score 4.92 runs per contest and have scored a total of 261 runs this year.

Useful Pitching Statistics

New York has a 24-29 overall mark this year. deGrom (70-50 career win-loss mark) has earned a 2.60 earned run average and has surrendered 7.2 hits per nine innings. He has a SO/W ratio of 4.77 and he has faced 4,606 opposing batters so far in his pro baseball career. During his pro baseball career, deGrom has conceded 932 hits while tallying 1,335 K's in 1,157 innings. He has conceded 334 earned runs while holding a WHIP of 1.047 and having a FIP of 2.8. The bullpen has an earned run average of 4.23 and they have given up 187 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .200 against the Mets bullpen. Their relievers have struck out 232 batters and walked 110 opposing hitters. As a team, New York allows 9 hits per nine innings while striking out 9.9 batters per nine innings. They are 20th in the league in team earned run average at 4.88. The Mets pitchers as a team have surrendered 450 base knocks and 243 earned runs this season. They have given up 69 home runs this year, which ranks 13th in Major League Baseball. New York as a staff has walked 186 hitters and struck out 491 batters. They give up a walk 3.7 times per 9 innings while they strike out 9.9 per 9. Their team WHIP is 1.42 while their FIP as a staff is 4.41.

Hitting Statistics

As a team, they are batting .278, good for 1st in the league. The Mets hold a .463 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .355, which is good for 1st in baseball. They rank 1st in MLB with 9.5 hits per contest. Pete Alonso comes into this matchup batting .210 with an OBP of .308. He has 38 hits this year along with 27 RBI in 181 AB's. He maintains a slugging percentage of .431 with an OPS+ of 102. J.D. Davis is hitting .263 this season and he has an OBP of .380. He has collected 45 hits in 171 at bats while driving in 19 runs. He has an OPS+ of 121 and a slugging percentage of .415. The Mets as a unit have 492 base hits, including 95 doubles and 73 homers. New York has walked 177 times this year and they have struck out on 431 occasions. They have had 397 men left on base and have an OPS of .818. They have scored 5.02 runs per game and totaled 261 runs this season.

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

Josh's Pick: Take the Mets (-230)

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