Houston Astros vs Tampa Bay Rays Prediction, 4/30/2021 MLB Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Houston Astros vs Tampa Bay Rays

Date: Friday, April 30, 2021

Location: Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, FL

TV: Bally Sports Sun

Odds/Point Spread: Houston (+110) Tampa Bay (-120)

Josh Fleming and the Tampa Bay Rays (13-12, 2nd in AL East) host the Houston Astros (13-11, 2nd in AL West) at Tropicana Field on Friday. The line on this matchup has the Astros coming in at +110 and the Rays are at -120. The over/under has been set at 8.5. The pitchers taking the mound will be Lance McCullers Jr and Josh Fleming.

The Astros have tallied 47 two-baggers as a squad and have hit 25 balls out of the stadium. Houston is slugging .414 and have been called out on strikes 171 times, while drawing a walk on 70 occasions. As a unit, the Houston Astros are compiling 5.1 runs per outing, which has them at 3rd in baseball. They have tallied 114 runs batted in and 212 base knocks this season, while their batting average is sitting at .258. They have accounted for 122 runs scored and have an OBP of .324.

The Astros have a team ERA of 3.99 on the campaign (14th in MLB), and the staff has struck out 210 hitters. They have earned a strikeout to walk ratio of 2.96 and the pitching staff has recorded a WHIP of 1.19. Astros pitchers have given up 29 long balls and 97 total runs (11th in MLB). Their pitching staff has walked 71 opposing players and their FIP sits at 4.12 as a team for the season.

Astros relief pitchers have come into the game with runners on base 21 times and also have had 20 appearances in high leverage situations. The relief pitchers have a total of 12 holds this year (15th in the league). The Astros relief pitchers have recorded a save rate of 62.5% and has stepped onto the mound in 21 save situations. They have recorded 5 saves for the season and have missed out on 3 of their 8 chances to save the game. The relief pitchers have inherited 38 runners for the year with 36.8% of them earned a run for their team. The Astros have sent 72 relievers to the hill for the year.

The Houston Astros have a total of 636 putouts for the season, in addition to 194 assists and 9 errors. Their fielding percentage sits at .989 which has them ranked 4th in the majors, and have accumulated 177 double plays. The Astros have converted 71.6% of balls in play into outs out of their 1,908 innings on the field, ranking them 7th in the majors.

McCullers has thrown 528 frames and has totaled 586 punch outs thus far in his career. McCullers (33-26 mark in his career) has earned a FIP of 3.31 while he has gone up against 2,222 opposing batters during his time in the major leagues. His earned run average is 3.73 (219 earned runs allowed) and his WHIP is 1.257. He has given up 455 hits (7.8 hits per 9 innings) and has 209 free passes.

The Tampa Bay Rays have recorded an OBP of .308 as well as a batting average of .230 on the season. They have been called out on strikes on 249 occasions (3rd in MLB) and have 194 base knocks. Tampa Bay has tallied 26 home runs so far this year as well as 101 RBIs. The Rays have a slugging percentage of .383 and they score 4.36 runs per contest (13th in baseball). They have put up 46 doubles, while taking a walk 86 times as well as scoring 109 runs.

The Rays have a team WHIP of 1.176 with a FIP of 3.57 as a unit over the course of the season. They have earned a strikeout to walk ratio of 3.28 (226 strikeouts vs 69 free passes). They come in at 24th in MLB as a pitching staff in total hits conceded with 197. They have given up 25 home runs and they relinquish 4.46 runs per 9 innings (16th in MLB). The Tampa Bay pitching staff have given up 112 runs for the season and come in with a team ERA of 4.06 (102 earned runs yielded).

With 34 save situations, the Rays have accrued 19 holds and also 6 blown saves. Tampa Bay has called on relievers to step onto the hill in 15 save chances and they have recorded 9 saves. Their relief pitchers have taken the field 36 times in high leverage situations in addition to 22 occasions with base runners. Tampa Bay bullpen pitchers hold an inherited score rate of 25.9% of 27 inherited base runners. They are ranked 20th in MLB holding a save percentage of 60.0%, and they have sent 77 relievers onto the diamond this season.

The Tampa Bay Rays have twisted 23 double plays and have a fielding percentage of .990 (2nd in the majors). The Rays have 215 assists, 9 errors and have earned a total of 679 putouts this year. Out of their 2,037 innings on the diamond, the Rays are sitting with a efficiency on defense of 70.4% (15th in professional baseball).

In his pro baseball career, Fleming has surrendered 38 base knocks while he has accumulated 33 strikeouts in 47 innings pitched. Fleming (6-2 career win-loss record) has a 2.30 earned run average and has surrendered 7.3 hits per 9 innings. He has allowed 12 earned runs while holding a WHIP of 1.043 and a FIP of 4.2. His K/BB ratio is 3.00 and he has faced 188 opposing hitters thus far in his career.

Who will win tonight's baseball game against the spread?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Tampa Bay (-120)

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