Tampa Bay Rays vs Pittsburgh Pirates Prediction, 4/17/2026 MLB Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Tampa Bay Rays vs Pittsburgh Pirates

Date: Friday, April 17, 2026

Location: PNC Park in Pittsburgh, PA

TV: SportsNet Pittsburgh

Odds/Point Spread: Tampa Bay (+102) Pittsburgh (-122)

The Pittsburgh Pirates (11-7) welcome the Tampa Bay Rays (10-7) at PNC Park on Friday. The moneyline on this matchup has the Rays at +102 while the Pirates open at -122. The over/under is 9. The pitchers taking the mound will be Nick Martinez and Bubba Chandler.

The Rays have hit 25 doubles as a unit and have hit 15 balls out of the stadium. Tampa Bay is slugging .399 and have been called out on strikes 120 times, while taking a walk on 57 occasions. As a unit, the Tampa Bay Rays are notching 5.1 runs per outing, which puts them at 8th in MLB. They have accumulated 81 RBI's and 156 base knocks on the season, while their team batting average sits at .266. They have earned a total of 86 runs scored and have an OBP of .337.

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The Rays are sitting with a team ERA of 4.46 for the season (23rd in MLB), and their staff has struck out 132 batters. Rays pitchers have allowed 20 home runs and 88 total runs (23rd in the league). Their pitching staff has walked 61 players from the other team and their FIP sits at 4.42 as a unit over the course of the season. Tampa Bay has conceded 126 base knocks (7.5 per 9 innings) and 75 earned runs. Their K/BB ratio is 2.16 and their pitching staff holds a collective WHIP of 1.24.

The Rays bullpen have recorded a save rate of 66.7% and stepped onto the hill in 22 save situations. They have accumulated 6 saves this season and have blown 3 of their 9 save opportunities. The bullpen pitchers have inherited 21 base runners this year with 47.6% of those runners crossing home plate. Rays relief pitchers have stepped onto the hill with runners on 15 times in addition to having 20 appearances in high leverage situations. The Rays have dispatched 55 relievers to the hill this season. The bullpen have recorded 13 holds so far this season (10th in the league).

The Tampa Bay Rays have amassed 454 putouts for the season, in addition to 123 assists and 19 errors. Their fielding percentage sits at .968 which ranks 30th in professional baseball, and they have turned 8 double plays. The Rays have turned 72.2% of baseballs in play into outs in their 1,362 innings, which has them sitting at 5th in the majors.

Martinez has taken the ball for 956 innings and has racked up 681 strikeouts during his MLB career. His earned run average is 4.12 (438 ER's allowed) and his career WHIP is 1.297. He has surrendered 947 hits (8.9 hits per 9 innings) with 293 walks. Martinez (48-59 record in his career) holds a FIP of 4.06 while he has faced 4,053 opposing batters in the majors.

Pittsburgh has accumulated 20 home runs this year as well as 85 runs batted in. They have hit 24 doubles, while taking a walk 77 times and recording 88 runs. The Pittsburgh Pirates have an on-base percentage of .337 and a team batting average of .244 so far this year. The Pirates hold a team SLG% of .385 and they tally 4.89 runs per game (10th in baseball). They have been rung up on 162 instances (11th in baseball) and have earned 149 base hits.

The Pirates have a team WHIP of 1.312 in addition to having a FIP of 3.80 as a staff so far this season. They have earned a K/BB ratio of 9.50 (172 strikeouts against 81 bases on balls). They are currently ranked 8th in the league as a pitching staff in total hits conceded with 133. They have given up 14 homers and they relinquish 3.75 runs per 9 innings (8th in the league). The Pittsburgh pitching staff have given up 68 runs on the year while having an ERA of 3.26 (59 earned runs yielded).

They rank 19th in the league holding a save rate of 57.1%, and they have dispatched 64 relievers to the mound over the course of the season. Their relief pitchers have come in 28 times in high leverage situations and on 14 occasions with runners on. Sitting with 24 save situations, the Pirates have 17 holds in addition to 3 blown saves. Pittsburgh has called on relievers to take the mound in 7 save chances and they have tallied 4 saves. Pittsburgh relievers have an inherited score percentage of 11.1% out of their 18 inherited runners.

The Pittsburgh Pirates have gotten 12 double plays and hold a fielding percentage of .987 (12th in pro baseball). The Pirates have racked up 141 assists, 8 errors and have a tally of 490 putouts during this campaign. In their 1,470 innings on the diamond, the Pirates have accumulated a efficiency on defense of 70.8% (13th in baseball).

Chandler (4-2 career record) has earned a 3.99 earned run average while giving up 7.0 hits per 9 innings. His K/BB ratio is 2.81 and he has gone up against 187 opposing batters so far in his career. He has conceded 20 earned runs while holding a WHIP of 1.131 and a FIP of 3.9. During his MLB career, Chandler has given up 35 base knocks while he has accumulated 45 strikeouts in 45 innings.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Tampa Bay (+102)

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