Philadelphia Phillies vs Tampa Bay Rays Prediction, 5/8/2025 MLB Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Philadelphia Phillies vs Tampa Bay Rays

Date: Thursday, May 8, 2025

Location: George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, FL

TV: FanDuel Sports Network Sun

Odds/Point Spread: Philadelphia (-196) Tampa Bay (+162)

The Philadelphia Phillies (20-15) are en route to George M. Steinbrenner Field on Thursday where they will compete against the Tampa Bay Rays (16-19). The line on this contest has the Phillies at -196 while the Rays are sitting at +162. The total is set at 8. The pitchers taking the mound are Jesus Luzardo and Ryan Pepiot.

Philadelphia has a slugging rate of .406 and have struck out 277 times, while drawing a walk on 138 occasions. They have accounted for 157 runs batted in and 307 base knocks on the season, and their average at the plate is .258. The Phillies have accounted for 53 doubles as a unit and have knocked 37 baseballs out of the park. They have racked up 167 runs scored while holding a team on-base percentage of .339. As a squad, the Philadelphia Phillies are scoring 4.8 runs/g, which has them sitting at 10th in the league.

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The Phillies hold a team ERA of 3.96 this year (14th in baseball), and the staff has rung up 343 batters. Phillies pitchers have surrendered 35 home runs and also 155 runs (16th in baseball). Their pitching staff has walked 103 players from the other team and their FIP comes in at 3.47 as a unit so far this season. Philadelphia has given up 301 base knocks (8.6 per 9 innings) in addition to 138 earned runs. Their strikeout to walk ratio is 3.33 and their pitching staff has a team WHIP of 1.29.

The Phillies relief pitchers have a save percentage of 52.9% and have stepped onto the mound in 36 save situations. The bullpen pitchers have inherited 30 runners this season with 43.3% of those runners ended up crossing the plate. Phillies pitchers have stepped onto the hill with runners on 22 times in addition to having 34 appearances in high leverage situations. The Phillies have sent 115 relievers to the mound so far this year. The relievers have racked up 18 holds so far this year (21st in the league). They have earned 9 saves on the year and have blown 8 of 17 save opportunities.

The Philadelphia Phillies have 941 putouts this year, in addition to 304 assists and 15 errors. Their fielding rate is holding steady at .988 which has them ranked 9th in MLB, and they have turned 26 double plays. The Phillies have turned 67.2% of balls in play into outs in their 2,823 innings, which has them sitting 28th in MLB.

Luzardo has taken the mound for 553 frames and has totaled 606 punch outs in his pro baseball career. His ERA is 4.12 (253 earned runs allowed) and his WHIP is 1.247. He has surrendered 499 base hits (8.1 hits per 9 innings) with 191 walks. Luzardo (29-34 career win-loss record) holds a FIP of 4.05 and he has gone up against 2,316 batters in the majors.

The Tampa Bay Rays have compiled an OBP of .310 in addition to a batting average of .243 on the year. They have been rung up on 298 occasions (15th in MLB) and have a total of 285 base knocks. Tampa Bay has tallied 29 long balls for the season as well as 130 runs batted in. The Rays have a team slugging percentage of .368 and they are scoring 3.86 runs per contest (22nd in the league). They have put up 53 doubles, while taking a walk 111 times and scoring 135 runs.

The Tampa Bay pitching staff have conceded 136 runs this season while holding a team ERA of 3.70 (129 earned runs relinquished). They have given up 48 dingers and they concede 3.90 runs per 9 innings (8th in the league). The Rays hold a team WHIP of 1.200 and have a FIP of 4.42 as a pitching staff on the season. Their K/BB ratio is 7.90 (276 strikeouts vs 102 walks). They rank 8th in baseball as a pitching staff in total hits relinquished with 275.

Tampa Bay bullpen pitchers have an inherited score rate of 52.0% out of 25 inherited base runners. Their bullpen pitchers have stepped onto the hill 35 times in high leverage situations and on 16 occasions with runners on base. With 31 save situations, the Rays have earned 18 holds in addition to 3 blown saves. They are ranked 4th in baseball with a save percentage of 76.9%, and they have dispatched 111 relievers to the hill for the year. Tampa Bay has called on bullpen pitchers to step onto the hill in 13 save chances and they have recorded 10 saves.

The Tampa Bay Rays have gotten 40 double plays and hold a fielding percentage of .990 (1st in the majors). The Rays have 334 assists, 13 errors and have notched a total of 944 putouts so far this season. Out of their 2,832 innings on the diamond, the Rays have accumulated a efficiency on defense of 72.4% (3rd in MLB).

So far in his MLB career, Pepiot has allowed 195 base knocks and he has 257 strikeouts in 246 frames. Pepiot (15-13 win-loss mark in his career) holds a 3.44 ERA and has surrendered 7.1 hits per 9 innings. He has given up a total of 94 earned runs while holding a WHIP of 1.174 and a FIP of 3.4. His K/BB ratio is 2.73 and he has faced 1,025 hitters during his MLB career.

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

Parlay's Pundit's Pick: Take Tampa Bay (+162) and under 8 runs

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