Pittsburgh Pirates vs Tampa Bay Rays Prediction, Preview and Odds - 06/25/2022

Game Time: 1:10 pm ET, Saturday, June 25, 2022

Venue:  Tropicana Field, Petersburg, FL

Where to Watch:  MLB Network

DraftKings:  Moneyline odds:  Pirates +100, Rays -120; Over/Under:  7 runs

Bet365:  Moneyline odds:  Pirates +100, Rays -120; Over/Under:  7 runs

BetMGM:  Moneyline odds:  Pirates +100, Rays -120; Over/Under:  7 runs

 

Pittsburgh Pirates:  29-40 (3rd place, NL Central)

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

 

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Pittsburgh Pirates:  5-5 last 10

Tampa Bay Rays:  3-7 last 10

 

 

 

The Pirates are coming into this game with a 29-40 record overall and they are 12-20 in their road games this season where they will be in this game. They have won 4 of their last 5 games and are coming into this one off of a win in their last game. They just won their 4-game series against the Chicago Cubs 3-1 and they are playing the 2nd game of a 3-game series with the Rays on Saturday. This will be the 2nd game of the series on Saturday with the series opener still to be played on Friday. Mitch Keller is the starting pitcher for them on Friday while JT Brubaker will be on the mound for them here on Saturday. He is 1-7 with a 4.11 ERA this season. His team lost 3 of their last 4 games this season with him starting. In his last start, he allowed 0 ER, 0 HRs, and 3 BB with 5 Ks on 5 hits in 6 IP against the Chicago Cubs. They scored 32 runs in their last series averaging 8 runs scored per game in that span and they allowed 23 runs against them averaging just under 6 runs allowed per game.

 

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 2nd game of a 3-game series with the Pirates on Saturday. This will be the 2nd game of the series on Saturday with the series opener still to be played on Friday. Jeffrey Springs is the starting pitcher for them on Friday while Corey Kluber will be on the mound for them here on Saturday. He is 3-4 with a 3.46 ERA this season. His team lost their last 2 straight games this season with him as a starter. In his last start, he allowed 2 earned runs, 1 homer, and 1 BB with 6 strikeouts on 4 hits in 6 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 slight favorite with the current betting odds. The Rays have a much better team than the Pirates have and they have been having a much better season as well. The Pirates have been playing very well recently with 4 wins in their last 5 games but they are going against a Rays team that has been good at home and has a very good pitching staff which has been carrying their team this season. Brubaker is starting for the Pirates here and he has not been pitching well this season. The team does not have a lot of success with him pitching either as he only has 1 win on the season but 7 losses. Kluber is starting for the Rays and he has been very good this season, also pitching well in his recent starts. The Rays have not been hitting well in recent games and the Pirates may have a little advantage on them there but the Rays have been so good with their pitching they just faced the Yankees in 2 different series and were able to keep down their red hot offense. The pitching for the Rays is going to shut down the Pirates here at home and they will score the runs on Brubaker needed to win this game. The best bet here is on the Rays to win this game at home.

 

Pirates Rays Prediction:  Our MLB Pick for Saturday, June 25, 2022 (1:10 pm ET start time) is Rays 4 Pirates 2.

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Pittsburgh Pirates: 109-182 (-22.5 Units) ML in all games. 91-170 (-26.3 Units) ML as an underdog of +100 or higher. 29-18 UNDER when the total is 7 to 8.5. 

Tampa Bay Rays: 189-126 (+33.2 Units) ML in all games. 131-69 (+20.5 Units) ML as a favorite of -110 or higher. 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.

 

 

 

"The good thing is he walked off under his own power. I think it went from a walk-off enthusiasm to about as hushed of a crowd as you can get for a walk-off. When you have a guy like (Hayes), that slides in and stays down for a second ... the concern, at that point, was just making sure he was OK." - Derek Shelton after his team’s win against the Cubs on Thursday.

 

 

"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.

 

 

 

Ke'Bryan Hayes (R) 3B

Bryan Reynolds (S) CF

Diego Castillo (R) 2B

Michael Chavis (R) 1B

Jack Suwinski (L) LF

Yu Chang (R) DH

Oneil Cruz (L) SS

Tyler Heineman (S) C

Bligh Madris (L) RF

 

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:  Liover Peguero (.333)

Hits:  Bryan Reynolds (64)

Home Runs:  Bryan Reynolds (12)

RBI:  Ke'Bryan Hayes (24)

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)