Toronto Blue Jays vs Tampa Bay Rays Prediction, 7/9/2021 MLB Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Toronto Blue Jays vs Tampa Bay Rays

Date: Friday, July 9, 2021

Location: Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, FL

TV: Bally Sports Sun

Odds/Point Spread: Toronto (+125) Tampa Bay (-156)

Ross Stripling and the Toronto Blue Jays (44-40, 3rd in AL East) are headed to Tropicana Field on Friday where they'll meet the Tampa Bay Rays (51-36, 2nd in AL East). The odds on this contest have the Blue Jays priced at +125 and the Rays are at -156. The total opens at 8. The expected starting pitchers are Ross Stripling and Shane McClanahan.

As a squad, the Toronto Blue Jays are putting up 5.2 runs per outing, which ranks them 2nd in baseball. They are sitting with 428 runs while holding a team on-base percentage of .328. The Blue Jays have accrued 139 two-baggers as a team and have hit 127 baseballs out of the stadium. They have 406 runs batted in and 752 hits so far this season, while their average at the plate is .265. Toronto has a slugging % of .453 and have been called out on strikes 686 times, while drawing a walk on 253 occasions.

The Blue Jays are sitting with a team ERA of 4.00 so far this season (13th in the league), and their staff has struck out 762 batters. They have walked 262 opposing batters and their FIP is 4.34 as a team for the year. Their strikeout to walk ratio sits at 2.91 and the pitching staff has a collective WHIP of 1.26. Blue Jays pitchers have relinquished 114 home runs and 357 total runs (12th in the league).

Blue Jays bullpen pitchers have entered the contest with runners on base 95 times and also have had 90 appearances in high leverage situations. The relievers have racked up 39 holds on the year (18th in baseball). The Blue Jays relief pitchers have accumulated a save rate of 60.0% and stepped onto the hill in 67 save situations. They have recorded 15 saves on the campaign and have blown 10 of their 25 save opportunities. The relievers have inherited 134 base runners over the course of the season with 29.9% of those runners ended up scoring. The Blue Jays have sent 285 relief pitchers to the hill over the course of the season.

The Blue Jays have converted 69.8% of balls hit into play into outs in their 6,522 innings on the diamond, ranking them 13th in MLB. The Toronto Blue Jays have notched a total of 2,174 putouts at this point in the season, in addition to 748 assists and 55 errors. Their fielding percentage is holding steady at .982 which has them sitting 26th in the majors, and have earned 548 double plays.

Stripling has taken the hill for 507 innings and has tallied 490 punch outs so far in his career. Stripling (26-31 career mark) has a FIP of 3.97 while he has faced 2,114 batters in the majors. His ERA is 3.81 (215 earned runs allowed) and he has a WHIP of 1.228. He has surrendered 493 base knocks (8.7 hits per 9 innings) and has had 130 walks.

Tampa Bay has tallied 103 home runs for the season as well as 393 RBIs. They have hit 148 doubles, while walking 326 times as well as putting up 415 runs. The Tampa Bay Rays have recorded a team OBP of .315 and a team batting average of .231 for the year. The Rays hold a slugging percentage of .394 and they are recording 4.88 runs per outing (9th in baseball). They have been rung up on 870 occasions (1st in baseball) and have earned 668 hits.

The Rays hold a team WHIP of 1.148 and have a FIP of 3.76 as a squad on the campaign. They rank 12th in MLB as a pitching staff in total hits relinquished with 648. The Tampa Bay pitching staff have yielded 348 runs for the season and come in with a team ERA of 3.60 (308 earned runs surrendered). Their K/BB ratio comes in at 3.43 (807 strikeouts against 235 walks). They have conceded 98 HR's and they relinquish 4.07 runs per 9 innings (9th in baseball).

Tampa Bay relievers have an inherited score rate of 31.1% out of their 90 inherited runners. Their bullpen pitchers have stepped onto the mound 113 times in high leverage situations and also on 72 occasions with runners on. Sitting with 87 save situations, the Rays have 51 holds and also 11 blown saves. They are currently ranked 8th in the league with a save percentage of 67.6%, and they have dispatched 275 bullpen pitchers to the mound on the season. Tampa Bay has called on relief pitchers to enter the contest in 34 save opportunities and they have converted 23 saves.

Out of their 6,921 innings on the field, the Rays have a efficiency on defense of 70.7% (8th in pro baseball). The Tampa Bay Rays have turned 73 double plays and own a fielding percentage of .987 (4th in professional baseball). The Rays have racked up 767 assists, 41 errors and have accounted for 2,307 putouts for the year.

In his pro baseball career, McClanahan has allowed 51 base hits and he has 66 strikeouts in 56 innings. McClanahan (3-3 career record) has earned a 4.18 ERA while allowing 8.2 hits per nine innings. He has given up a total of 26 ER's while earning a WHIP of 1.232 and being the owner of a FIP of 3.9. His strikeout to walk ratio is 3.67 and he has gone up against 233 batters in his MLB career.

Who will win tonight's MLB game ATS?

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Toronto (+125)

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