In this article we will formulate a Tampa Bay Rays vs NY Mets prediction for this MLB game on Saturday, May 4th at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. Let’s take a look at the prediction for game two in this series.
Rays in a Free Fall
The Tampa Bay Rays are 15-18 this season and they have lost eight of their last 11 games. Tampa Bay won game one in this series by a score of 10-8 on Friday night. Prior to this series, the Rays lost two out of three against Milwaukee, were swept by the White Sox, and lost two out of three against Detroit. Tampa Bay has not been able to get going so far this season and they have not won back to back games in 19 games. The Rays are tied for last in the AL East, but they are only 6.5 games behind Baltimore for first.
The Tampa Bay pitching staff has a 4.73 ERA, a 1.33 WHIP, and a .253 opponent batting average. The Rays offense has scored 130 runs with a .243 batting average and a .307 on base percentage. Isaac Paredes is batting .283 with seven home runs and 17 RBI’s for the Rays this season. Tampa Bay is just 26th in team ERA this year and they have allowed at least seven runs in five of their last seven games.
Mets Looking to Continue Trend
The New York Mets are 16-16 this year and they have alternated wins and losses over their last seven games. New York lost game one in this series, so if the trend continues, that would mean a win is coming in this one. Prior to this series, the Mets split a four game set with the Cubs, lost two out of three against the Cardinals, and dropped two out of three to the Giants. New York has not played very well in the last three weeks and they are currently tied for third in the NL East standings behind the Phillies and Braves.
The New York pitching staff has a 3.64 ERA, a 1.29 WHIP, and a .218 opponent batting average. The Mets offense has scored 143 runs with a .238 batting average and a .313 on base percentage. Pete Alonso is batting .220 with eight home runs and 16 RBI’s for the Mets this year. The Mets are 11th in team ERA this season and they are 17th in runs scored, but they haven’t won back to back games in their last 12 games.
Starting Pitchers
The projected starting pitcher for Tampa Bay is Zack Littell, who is 1-2 with a 3.27 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP over 33.0 innings pitched this year. Littell has allowed three earned runs or fewer in four of his last five starts, but did allow five earned runs and nine hits against Detroit two starts ago. The projected starting pitcher for New York is Christian Scott, who is making his first appearance of the season.
Why the Tampa Bay Rays will win
- Probable Starting Pitcher: Zack Littell Record this season: 1-2 ERA: 3.27
- The Mets have lost each of their last 11 games as road underdogs against AL East opponents.
- The Rays have won each of their last six home games against the Mets.
- The Mets have failed to cover the run line in each of their last 11 games as road underdogs against AL East opponents.
- The Rays have covered the run line in each of their last six night games against NL East opponents following a win.
- The Mets have trailed after 5 innings in each of their last five games against AL East opponents.
- The Mets have trailed after 3 innings in each of their last four night games against American League opponents that held a losing record.
Why the New York Mets will win
- Probable Starting Pitcher: Christian Scott Record this season: – ERA: –
- The Rays have lost eight of their last nine games as home favorites following a win.
- The underdogs have won nine of the Rays’ last 12 games at Tropicana Field.
- The Rays have failed to cover the run line in each of their last nine games as favorites after playing the previous day.
- The underdogs have covered the run line in 11 of the Rays’ last 12 games at Tropicana Field.
- The Rays have trailed after 5 innings in five of their last six games as favorites.
Total Runs Facts
- Six of the Mets’ last seven night games after playing the previous day have gone UNDER the total runs line.
- Five of the last six games between the Mets and Rays have gone OVER the total runs line.
- The ‘Inning 1 UNDER 0.5 runs’ market has hit in each of the last eight night games between the Mets and Rays.
- The ‘Inning 1 UNDER 0.5 runs’ market has hit in each of the Mets’ last five road games.
Tampa Bay Rays vs NY Mets Prediction
Both of these teams come into this game struggling over the last few weeks, but they played a very entertaining game one on Friday night. The Rays are just 9-9 at home this season and their pitching staff has been a disappointment through 33 games. New York has been very inconsistent this year, but they are on a cold streak right now. I think the pitching matchup favors the Rays in this game, but the Mets have been the slightly better offense. My Tampa Bay Rays vs NY Mets prediction is for the Rays to pick up a second win in a row.