Tampa Bay Rays vs New York Yankees Prediction, 10/8/2020 MLB Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Tampa Bay Rays vs New York Yankees

Date: Thursday, October 8, 2020

Location: Yankee Stadium in Bronx, NY

TV: TBS

Odds/Point Spread: Rays (+107) Yankees (-127)

Yankee Stadium is the venue where Brett Gardner and the New York Yankees (33-27, 2nd in AL East) will take on the Tampa Bay Rays (40-20, 1st in AL East) on Thursday in Game 4 of the ALDS. The Rays open this game at +107 while the Yankees are coming in at -127. The over/under opens at 8.5. The pitchers taking the mound are Ryan Yarbrough and Jordan Montgomery.

Key Tampa Bay Rays Injuries

10/7/2020 Brett Phillips RF Hamstring Out for the season
10/5/2020 Jose Alvarado RP Shoulder Expected to be out until at least Oct 12
9/18/2020 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 New York Yankees Injuries

9/22/2020 Ben Heller RP Biceps Expected to be out until at least Feb 1, 2021
9/16/2020 James Paxton SP Forearm Expected to be out until at least Oct 9
8/6/2020 Tommy Kahnle RP Elbow Expected to be out until at least Sep 1, 2021
6/28/2020 Luis Severino SP Elbow Expected to be out until at least Jun 1, 2021

Useful Pitching Statistics

The Rays had a 40-20 overall record this season. Yarbrough has thrown 344 frames and has accounted for 289 punchouts during his pro baseball career. His ERA is 3.95 (151 ER's allowed) and his career WHIP is 1.153. He has given up 315 hits (8.2 hits per 9 innings) and has had 82 free passes. Yarbrough (28-16 career record) has earned a FIP of 3.88 and he has faced 1,425 opposing hitters during his time 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.

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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. Kevin Kiermaier is hitting .217 with an on-base percentage of .321. He has 30 hits this season in 138 at bats with 22 runs batted in. He has a slugging percentage of .362 and an OPS+ of 91. Austin Meadows is hitting .205 this year and he has an on-base percentage of .296. He has totaled 27 hits and he has driven in 13 men in 132 at bats. His OPS+ is 86 while his slugging percentage is at .371. 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

New York has a 33-27 overall mark this year. During his MLB career, Montgomery has given up 220 base knocks while he has accumulated 219 K's in 231 innings pitched. He has conceded a total of 106 earned runs while earning a WHIP of 1.265 and a FIP of 4.1. His SO/W ratio is 3.04 and he has faced 977 opposing batters during his pro baseball career. Montgomery (13-10 career win-loss record) has a 4.13 ERA and has given up 8.6 hits per nine innings. The bullpen has an earned run average of 4.51 and they have given up 183 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .203 against the Yankees bullpen. Their relievers have struck out 213 batters and walked 93 opposing hitters. As a team, New York allows 8.2 hits per nine innings while striking out 9.5 batters per nine innings. They are 14th in the league in team earned run average at 4.35. The Yankees pitchers as a team have surrendered 455 base knocks and 242 earned runs this season. They have given up 83 home runs this year, which ranks 5th in Major League Baseball. New York as a staff has walked 168 hitters and struck out 528 batters. They give up a walk 3 times per 9 innings while they strike out 9.5 per 9. Their team WHIP is 1.24 while their FIP as a staff is 4.39.

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Hitting Statistics

As a team, they are batting .247, good for 14th in the league. The Yankees hold a .447 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .342, which is good for 3rd in baseball. They rank 18th in MLB with 7.9 hits per contest. Brett Gardner comes into this matchup batting .223 with an OBP of .354. He has 29 hits this year along with 15 RBI in 130 AB's. He maintains a slugging percentage of .392 with an OPS+ of 108. Aaron Judge is hitting .257 this season and he has an OBP of .336. He has collected 26 hits in 101 at bats while driving in 22 runs. He has an OPS+ of 142 and a slugging percentage of .554. The Yankees as a unit have 473 base hits, including 87 doubles and 94 homers. New York has walked 251 times this year and they have struck out on 480 occasions. They have had 399 men left on base and have an OPS of .789. They have scored 5.25 runs per game and totaled 315 runs this season.

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

Guy's Pick: Take the Rays (+107)

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