Tampa Bay Rays vs New York Yankees Prediction, 8/20/2020 MLB Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Tampa Bay Rays vs New York Yankees

Date: Thursday, August 20, 2020

Location: Yankee Stadium in Bronx, NY

TV: SUN/YES

Odds/Point Spread: Rays (-124) Yankees (+114)

Aaron Hicks and the New York Yankees (16-7, 1st in AL East) host the Tampa Bay Rays (15-9, 2nd in AL East) at Yankee Stadium on Thursday. The Rays open this game at -124 while the Yankees are priced at +114. The total is set at 9.5. The pitchers who are expected to start are Ryan Yarbrough and James Paxton.

Key Tampa Bay Rays Injuries

8/19/2020 Jose Alvarado RP Shoulder Expected to be out until at least Aug 31
8/16/2020 Charlie Morton SP Shoulder Expected to be out until at least Aug 22
8/16/2020 Oliver Drake RP Biceps Expected to be out until at least Aug 24
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 Yankees Injuries

8/18/2020 Kyle Higashioka C Oblique Expected to be out until at least Aug 19
8/17/2020 DJ LeMahieu 2B Thumb Expected to be out until at least Sep 1
8/17/2020 Giancarlo Stanton DH Hamstring Expected to be out until at least Sep 1
8/14/2020 Aaron Judge RF Calf Expected to be out until at least Aug 22
8/6/2020 Tommy Kahnle RP Elbow Out for the season
6/28/2020 Luis Severino SP Elbow Out for the season

Useful Pitching Statistics

The Rays have a 15-9 overall record this season. Yarbrough (27-14 career record) sits with a FIP of 3.97 while he has gone up against 1,296 batters during his time in the majors. His ERA is 4.03 (140 earned runs allowed) and his WHIP is 1.153. He has conceded 284 hits (8.2 hits per 9 innings) with 77 free passes. Yarbrough has thrown 313 innings and has tallied 260 K's in his MLB career. The bullpen has an earned run average of 4.09 and they have given up 117 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .234 against the bullpen and they've struck out 128 hitters and walked 38 batters. As a team, Tampa Bay allows 9.2 hits per nine innings while striking out 9.7 batters per nine innings. They are 14th in the league in team earned run average at 4.23. The Rays pitchers collectively have given up 213 base hits and 98 earned runs. They have allowed 30 home runs this season, ranking them 11th in the league. Tampa Bay as a pitching staff has walked 72 batters and struck out 224. They have walked 3.1 men per 9 innings while striking out 9.7 per 9. They have a team WHIP of 1.37 and their FIP as a unit is 4.12.

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

Hitting Statistics

As a team Tampa Bay is hitting .248, good for 12th in the league. The Rays hold a .441 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .338, which is good for 5th in baseball. They rank 15th in MLB with 8.2 hits per game. Willy Adames is hitting .282 with an on-base percentage of .370. He has 20 hits this season in 71 at bats with 7 runs batted in. He has a slugging percentage of .507 and an OPS+ of 143. Kevin Kiermaier is hitting .250 this year and he has an on-base percentage of .342. He has totaled 16 hits and he has driven in 9 men in 64 at bats. His OPS+ is 98 while his slugging percentage is at .359. The Rays have 196 hits, including 49 doubles and 29 home runs. Tampa Bay has walked 103 times so far this season and they have struck out 227 times as a unit. They have left 156 men on base and have a team OPS of .779. They score 5.29 runs per contest and have scored a total of 127 runs this year.

Useful Pitching Statistics

New York has a 16-7 overall mark this year. During his MLB career, Paxton has allowed 683 hits while he has accumulated 821 strikeouts in 748 frames. He has conceded 297 earned runs while earning a WHIP of 1.215 and being the owner of a FIP of 3.4. His strikeout to walk ratio is 3.63 and he has faced 3,105 hitters in his MLB career. Paxton (57-33 record in his career) is the owner of a 3.57 ERA and has conceded 8.2 hits per 9 innings. The bullpen has an earned run average of 3.32 and they have given up 69 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .184 against the Yankees bullpen. Their relievers have struck out 97 batters and walked 37 opposing hitters. As a team, New York allows 7.7 hits per nine innings while striking out 9.1 batters per nine innings. They are 10th in the league in team earned run average at 4.06. The Yankees pitchers as a team have surrendered 163 base knocks and 86 earned runs this season. They have given up 28 home runs this year, which ranks 15th in Major League Baseball. New York as a staff has walked 68 hitters and struck out 192 batters. They give up a walk 3.2 times per 9 innings while they strike out 9.1 per 9. Their team WHIP is 1.21 while their FIP as a staff is 4.24.

Hitting Statistics

As a team, they are batting .259, good for 6th in the league. The Yankees hold a .482 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .350, which is good for 2nd in baseball. They rank 14th in MLB with 8.2 hits per contest. Aaron Hicks comes into this matchup batting .220 with an OBP of .387. He has 13 hits this year along with 7 RBI in 59 AB's. He maintains a slugging percentage of .424 with an OPS+ of 126. Gleyber Torres is hitting .233 this season and he has an OBP of .341. He has collected 17 hits in 73 at bats while driving in 5 runs. He has an OPS+ of 82 and a slugging percentage of .301. The Yankees as a unit have 188 base hits, including 34 doubles and 42 homers. New York has walked 87 times this year and they have struck out on 188 occasions. They have had 150 men left on base and have an OPS of .832. They have scored 5.57 runs per game and totaled 128 runs this season.

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

Josh's Pick: Take the Yankees (+114)

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