Tampa Bay Rays vs Pittsburgh Pirates Prediction, 4/3/2022 MLB Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Tampa Bay Rays vs Pittsburgh Pirates

Date: Sunday, April 3, 2022

Location: LECOM Park in Bradenton, FL

TV: MLBTV

Mitch Keller and the Pittsburgh Pirates (61-101 last year, 5th in NL Central) play the Tampa Bay Rays (100-62 last season, 1st in AL East) at LECOM Park on Sunday.

As a squad, the Tampa Bay Rays put up 5.3 runs per game, which ranked them 2nd in MLB. They racked up 857 runs scored and held an OBP of .321. The Rays hit 288 doubles as a team and knocked 222 balls out of the stadium. They earned 810 RBI's and 1,335 hits in the prior season, while their average at the plate came in at .242. Tampa Bay had a slugging rate of .428 and were called out on strikes 1,542 times, while drawing a walk on 585 occasions.

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Rays pitchers surrendered 184 long balls and 651 total runs (5th in baseball). They walked 436 opposing players and their FIP finished at 3.79 as a team in the prior season. Their strikeout to walk ratio was at 3.39 and the pitching staff held a collective WHIP of 1.17. The Rays compiled a team earned run average of 3.67 for the previous season (4th in baseball), and they rung up 1,478 batters.

The Rays had sent 531 relievers to the hill over the course of the prior season. The bullpen inherited 166 base runners over the course of last year with 27.7% of them crossed the plate. They accumulated 42 saves over the course of last year and blew 22 of 64 save chances. The Rays bullpen recorded a save rate of 65.6% and entered the game in 159 save situations. The bullpen notched 91 holds last year (9th in the league). Rays relief pitchers entered the game with runners on base 126 times and also had 180 contests in high leverage situations.

The Rays converted 1 of balls in play into outs out of 7th innings on the diamond, ranking them in pro baseball 1310100.0%. The Tampa Bay Rays had a tally of 4,367 putouts for the prior year, as well as 1,358 assists and 80 errors. Their fielding percentage was previously at .986 which ranked 9th in MLB, and they twisted 130 double plays.

Rasmussen (5-1 win-loss mark in his career) sits with a FIP of 3.37 and he has faced 378 batters in the major leagues. He has allowed 74 base knocks (7.3 hits per nine innings) and has 34 walks. His earned run average is 3.35 (34 ER's allowed) and he has a career WHIP of 1.182. Rasmussen has pitched in 91 innings and has racked up 94 strikeouts so far in his MLB career.

The Pirates held a team slugging % of .364 and they were recording 3.76 runs per game (30th in baseball). They put up 240 doubles, while taking a walk 529 times and scoring 609 runs. Pittsburgh recorded 124 HRs over the course of last year to go along with 570 runs batted in. They struck out on 1,328 instances (25th in MLB) and tallied 1,261 hits. The Pittsburgh Pirates tallied a team on-base percentage of .309 in addition to a team batting average of .236 during the previous year.

The Pirates had a WHIP of 1.437 in addition to having a FIP of 4.74 as a unit in the prior season. They finished at 26th in MLB as a pitching staff in total hits allowed with 1,400. The Pittsburgh pitching staff given up 833 runs for the prior year while having an ERA of 5.08 (788 earned runs yielded). Their strikeout to walk ratio came in at 2.17 (1,312 strikeouts vs 606 walks). They allowed 213 dingers and they gave up 5.37 runs per 9 innings (28th in the league).

Wrapping up the year with 131 save situations, the Pirates earned 78 holds in addition to 25 blown saves. Pittsburgh had relievers step onto the mound in 50 save opportunities and they came away with 25 saves. Their relievers took the field 135 times in high leverage situations and also on 119 occasions with base runners. Pittsburgh bullpen pitchers held an inherited score percentage of 34.3% out of 201 inherited runners. They were ranked 27th in the league holding a save percentage of 50.0%, and they sent 583 relievers onto the field last season.

Pittsburgh Pirates twisted 139 double plays and held a fielding percentage of .988 (2nd in pro baseball). The Pirates had 1,378 assists, 70 errors and a tally of 4,189 putouts in the prior season. Out of their 12,567 innings on the diamond, the Pirates had a defensive efficiency of 68.7% (23rd in MLB).

Thus far in his career, Keller has allowed 212 hits while he has totaled 173 strikeouts in 170 innings pitched. He has surrendered 114 ER's while earning a WHIP of 1.732 and having a FIP of 4.3. His K/BB ratio is 2.08 and he has gone up against 784 opposing batters in his MLB career. Keller (7-17 career mark) holds a 6.02 ERA while conceding 11.2 hits per 9 innings.

Who will win tonight's MLB game against the spread or moneyline?

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Tampa Bay

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