Tampa Bay Rays vs Texas Rangers Prediction & Picks - MLB

Prediction published on 7/6/24, 9:25 AM  by Carlos Zabala | Modified on 7/6/24 at 10:03 AM in MLB Picks

Bradley for Rays and Heaney for Rangers will be Saturday's pitching duel. Both pitchers had a good 2023 followed by a difficult 2024. Even so, both have improved recently, Bradley tied his personal record in strikeouts having struck out 11 in his last outing against the Nationals, while Heaney managed to strike out 10 in his last outing against the Orioles.

The Rays have won the last 5 series and together with the Mets and Astros they have overcome the deficit of losing a lot at the beginning of the season and now maintain a record of 44-44, being 4.5 games from the last wild card. Still, the Rays were silenced in game 1 on Friday against the Rangers, barely able to get 3 hits and striking out 10 times against a good start by Lorenzen and a relief pitcher that struck out 6. Rays, despite having raised the average a little of HR per game, they are still the 4th in MLB with the fewest home runs. Rays will face a left-handed pitcher, they barely average 0.3 HR per game against left-handed pitchers in 2024.

Globe Life Field in Texas became a surprisingly pitcher-friendly park this season. Only 40.0% of Rangers' home games were OVER.