Boston Red Sox vs Tampa Bay Rays Prediction, 9/2/2021 MLB Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Boston Red Sox vs Tampa Bay Rays

Date: Thursday, September 2, 2021

Location: Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, FL

TV: Bally Sports Sun

Odds/Point Spread: Boston (+115) Tampa Bay (-147)

Tropicana Field is the venue where Shane McClanahan and the Tampa Bay Rays (84-48, 1st in AL East) will play the Boston Red Sox (75-59, 3rd in AL East) on Thursday. The Rays open this contest at -147 while the Red Sox are coming in at +115. The O/U has been set at 7.5. The men taking the mound are Eduardo Rodriguez and Shane McClanahan.

As a unit, the Boston Red Sox are earning 5.0 runs per contest, which puts them at 4th in baseball. They are sitting with 675 runs scored and hold an OBP of .325. The Red Sox have tallied 275 two-baggers as a team and have hit 177 balls out of the park. They have 636 RBI's as well as 1,170 base knocks this season, while their average at the plate sits at .259. Boston has a slugging % of .444 and have been called out on strikes 1,134 times, while drawing a walk on 410 occasions.

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The Red Sox have compiled a team earned run average of 4.33 for the season (16th in baseball), and the staff has rung up 1,248 hitters. They have accrued a K/BB ratio of 2.73 and the pitching staff sits with a WHIP of 1.39. Red Sox pitchers have yielded 145 home runs and 620 total runs (18th in baseball). Their pitching staff has walked 457 players from the other team and their FIP is 3.99 as a team so far this year.

The Red Sox bullpen have compiled a save rate of 66.7% and has entered the game in 144 save situations. The relief pitchers have inherited 218 base runners on the year and 31.7% of those players crossed the plate. Red Sox pitchers have come into the game with runners on 140 times and also have had 151 appearances in high leverage situations. The Red Sox have dispatched 450 relievers to the mound on the year. The relievers are sitting with 79 holds this season (5th in MLB). They have earned 40 saves this year and have blown 20 of 60 chances to save the game.

The Boston Red Sox have a total of 3,505 putouts so far this season, as well as 1,167 assists and 91 errors. Their fielding percentage is at .981 which has them ranked 29th in pro baseball, and they have turned 931 double plays. The Red Sox have turned 65.9% of balls hit into play into outs in their 10,515 innings on the field, ranking them 30th in MLB.

Rodriguez has thrown 825 innings and is sitting with 857 K's in his career. Rodriguez (61-38 career mark) holds a FIP of 3.87 and he has faced 3,519 hitters during his time in the majors. His earned run average is 4.20 (385 earned runs allowed) and his career WHIP is 1.310. He has given up 797 hits (8.7 hits per 9 innings) and has 285 walks.

Tampa Bay has a total of 179 long balls for the season and 670 runs batted in. They have 238 two-baggers, while getting a free base 485 times and putting up 710 runs. The Tampa Bay Rays have recorded a team OBP of .319 in addition to a batting average of .239 so far this year. The Rays have a team SLG% of .422 and they have an average of 5.38 runs per outing (1st in the league). They have been rung up on 1,290 occasions (2nd in the league) and have notched a total of 1,074 base knocks.

The Rays are sitting with a team WHIP of 1.176 and have a FIP of 3.75 as a pitching staff this year. Their strikeout to walk ratio sits at 3.40 (1,229 strikeouts vs 362 walks). They come in at 12th in the league as a staff in total hits surrendered with 1,035. They have yielded 148 dingers and they relinquish 4.08 runs per 9 innings (7th in the league). The Tampa Bay pitching staff have yielded 539 runs on the season while holding a team ERA of 3.67 (485 earned runs surrendered).

Tampa Bay has had relief pitchers step onto the hill in 51 save chances and they have come away with 36 saves. They rank 2nd in the league with a save percentage of 70.6%, and they have sent 418 relievers to the mound for the season. Their relief pitchers have stepped onto the hill 148 times in high leverage situations and also on 104 occasions with runners on. Tampa Bay relievers hold an inherited score percentage of 30.0% out of their 130 inherited runners. Sitting with 125 save situations, the Rays have accrued 72 holds in addition to 15 blown saves.

In 10,695 innings on the field, the Rays have accumulated a defensive efficiency of 70.1% (9th in pro baseball). The Tampa Bay Rays have turned 109 double plays and have a fielding rate of .986 (9th in baseball). The Rays have accrued 1,124 assists, 67 errors and have earned 3,565 putouts so far this season.

In his career, McClanahan has given up 98 base hits while he has tallied 117 strikeouts in 100 innings. He has surrendered a total of 40 ER's while earning a WHIP of 1.286 and being the owner of a FIP of 3.4. He has a K/BB ratio of 3.77 and he has faced 422 hitters during his pro baseball career. McClanahan (9-4 career record) has a 3.59 ERA while conceding 8.8 hits per 9 innings.

Who will win tonight's MLB game ATS?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Tampa Bay (-147)

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