Pittsburgh Pirates vs Tampa Bay Rays Prediction, Preview and Odds - 06/24/2022

Game Time: 7:10 pm ET, Friday, June 24, 2022

Venue:  Tropicana Field, Petersburg, FL

Where to Watch:  BSSUN

DraftKings:  Moneyline odds:  Pirates +165, Rays -195; Over/Under:  7 runs

Bet365:  Moneyline odds:  Pirates +165, Rays -195; Over/Under:  7 runs

BetMGM:  Moneyline odds:  Pirates +165, Rays -195; Over/Under:  7 runs

 

Pittsburgh Pirates:  28-40 (3rd place, NL Central)

Tampa Bay Rays:  37-32 (4th place, AL East)

 

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Pittsburgh Pirates:  4-6 last 10

Tampa Bay Rays:  3-7 last 10

 

 

 

The Pirates are coming into this game with a 28-40 record overall and they are 12-20 in their road games this season where they will be in this game. They have won 3 of their last 4 games but are coming into this one off of a loss in their last game which snapped a 3 game winning streak that they were on. They just lost their 3-game series against the San Francisco Giants 2-1 and they are playing the series opener of a 3-game series with the Rays on Friday. This will be the 1st game of the series on Friday with the series finale of their series against the Chicago Cubs still to be played on Thursday. José Quintana is the starting pitcher for them on Thursday while Mitch Keller will be on the mound for them here on Friday. He is 2-5 with a 4.72 ERA this season. His team lost 2 of their last 3 games this season with him starting. In his last start, he allowed 1 ER, 0 HRs, and 3 BB with 4 Ks on 3 hits in 6 IP against the San Francisco Giants. They scored 24 runs in their last series averaging 8 runs scored per game in that span and they allowed 16 runs against them averaging just over 5 runs allowed per game with the final game of that series still to be played.

 

The Rays are coming into this game with a 37-32 record overall and they are 22-15 in their home games this season where they will be in this game. They have lost 3 of their last 4 games and are coming into this one off of a loss in their last game. They just lost their 3-game series against the New York Yankees 2-1, had Thursday off as a rest day, and they are playing the series opener of a 3-game series with the Pirates on Friday. This will be the 1st game of the series on Friday. Shane Baz was the starting pitcher for them on Wednesday while Jeffrey Springs will be on the mound for them here on Friday. He is 3-2 with a 2.00 ERA this season. His team won 6 of their last 7 games this season with him as a starter. In his last start, he allowed 4 earned runs, 0 homers, and 1 BB with 6 strikeouts on 7 hits in 4.1 innings played against the Baltimore Orioles. They scored 11 runs in their last series averaging just under 4 runs scored per game in that span and they allowed 13 runs against them averaging just over 4 runs allowed per game.

 

The Rays are coming into this game as a big favorite with the current betting odds. They have been playing well in their recent games but they just lost a close series with the Yankees where every game in that series was very close and could have gone either way. They had a chance to win the series in their last game taking an early 4-0 lead but then blew their lead to lose 5-4 but they have still been playing well and will likely bounce back in this game at home against a bad team. They are going up against a Pirates team that has been playing well recently but has also been playing against other bad teams and has one of the worst records in the MLB right now. They also have Keller on the mound here and he has been awful all season for the Pirates. Springs is starting for the Rays here and he has been great this season as he does not allow many runs in the games he starts. He also has a much better bullpen to back him up once he comes out of the game and the Rays have been pitching very well in recent games. The best bet here is on the Rays to win this game on the runline and get a much needed win against a bad team here.

 

Pirates Rays Prediction:  Our MLB Pick for Friday, June 24, 2022 (7:10 pm ET start time) is Rays 5 Pirates 1.

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Pittsburgh Pirates: 108-182 (-23.5 Units) ML in all games. 90-170 (-27.3 Units) ML as an underdog of +100 or higher. 13-7 UNDER against left-handed starters.

Tampa Bay Rays: 189-126 (+33.2 Units) ML in all games. 31-14 (+17.1 Units) ML when the total is 7 or less. 17-10 UNDER as a home favorite of -110 or higher.

 

 

Pittsburgh Pirates:  B. Gamel (LF) Early July - Hamstring. K. Newman (SS) Ques Sun - Groin. J. VanMeter (2B) Early July - Finger.

Tampa Bay Rays:  M. Margot (CF) Out indefinitely - Knee. K. Kiermaier (CF) Out indefinitely - Hip. B. Lowe (2B) Early July - Back.

 

 

 

"It was the Diego Castillo Show. You're trying to save arms playing at 12:30 tomorrow, you end throwing a position player – and sometimes position players throw it and it becomes a game within itself." - Derek Shelton after his team’s loss against the Cubs on Wednesday.

 

 

"We had opportunities to add more runs and we didn't, and it's fairly obvious that we were a little gassed in the 'pen from the night before and even from previous usage, and it caught up to us there at the end. The walks — it goes without saying that team is going to capitalize on opportunities." - Kevin Cash after his team’s loss against the Yankees on Wednesday.

 

 

 

Oneil Cruz (L) SS

Bryan Reynolds (S) CF

Bligh Madris (L) LF

Daniel Vogelbach (L) DH

Cal Mitchell (L) RF

Diego Castillo (R) 2B

Michael Perez (L) C

Yu Chang (R) 1B

Hoy Park (L) 3B

 

Yandy Diaz (R) 3B

Harold Ramirez (R) DH

Ji-Man Choi (L) 1B

Randy Arozarena (R) LF

Isaac Paredes (R) 2B

Francisco Mejia (S) C

Josh Lowe (L) CF

Vidal Brujan (S) RF

Taylor Walls (S) SS

 

 

Batting Average:  Bligh Madris (.385)

Hits:  Bryan Reynolds (63)

Home Runs:  Bryan Reynolds (11)

RBI:  Ke'Bryan Hayes (22)

Stolen Bases:  Ke'Bryan Hayes (8)

Wins:  Dillon Peters (4)

Saves:  David Bednar (11)

ERA:  Max Kranick (0.00)

 

Batting Average:  Manuel Margot (.302)

Hits:  Randy Arozarena (64)

Home Runs:  Isaac Paredes (9)

RBI:  Ji-Man Choi (34)

Stolen Bases:  Randy Arozarena (12)

Wins:  Shane McClanahan (7)

Saves:  Andrew Kittredge (5)

ERA:  J.P. Feyereisen (0.00)

 

Managers:

Pittsburgh Pirates: Derek Shelton (3rd season)

Tampa Bay Rays: Kevin Cash (8th season)