The Rays have hit the ground running in 2019, utilising an impressive combination of offense and strategic pitching to sit comfortably atop the AL East.
They will be looking to close out this series against the Royals with a win through current CY Young winner Blake Snell, who returns from a broken toe.
In offense, Tampa has a brilliant combination of power and speed. Before his recent injury, Austin Meadows was a star with the bat, holding a .351 batting average and leading the team in RBI’s.
However, the story of the season so far for the Rays has been their bullpen.
Jose Alvarado is making batters look silly with his ability to put ridiculous movement on the ball in the air.
With the abundance of quality and depth stemming from their bullpen, Coach Kevin Cash has implemented a system to get maximum efficiency and velocity out of all his pitchers.
The Royals needed to get their season off to a good start, however after their opening 13 games the Kansas outfit were left with a record of 3-10.
When assessing the 10 losses however, six of them came after the 6th inning when their bullpen came into the game.
This suggests the Royals have some serious pitching problems that need to be addressed, in contrast to the Rays.
While Jakob Junis possesses the quality to trouble, it is hard to back this Royals team with any confidence.
Key MLB Betting Statistics
Junis holds a 2.19 ERA and no home runs allowed against the Rays in 12.1 career innings.
Since giving up three home runs against the Astros on opening day Snell has conceded only nine hits from 19 innings pitched
Free MLB Expert Pick: Tampa Bay Rays to cover the -1.5 line @ $1.65
Reasoning: Blake Snell is dominant against left handed batters and the Royals middle order is scattered with them.
Expect a lot of strikeouts from Snell in his return game if his radar is on. Take Tampa at the moneyline for a multi anchor or at the line for a bit more value.
Through the opening stages of the season, Seattle has been one of the most exciting teams to watch in baseball.
With the season not even a month old, the Mariners currently hold a league leading 56 home runs.
They are so far ahead in this statistic that the next closest team is the LA Dodgers with 44.
When Seattle are hot, not many teams can go toe-to-toe with them.
Cracks are starting to emerge however.
In their most recent series against the LA Angels, a total of 24 batters were left on base.
If Seattle are to be a playoff team, they must figure out how to play small ball to get these runners home.
In his past two outings, Hernandez has pitched well after getting through six innings in each. Unfortunately for him, his team weren't able to back him up, losing a 3-1 decision to the Astros and throwing away a 10-2 lead against the Angels.
For the Padres, the acquisition of Manny Marchado in the off-season has not only produced a star player in the infield, but also brought a fiery win at all costs mentality to the team that was desperately needed.
A new core of young, healthy players now dictate the fast tempo game the Padres play.
Chris Paddock is one of these young guns aiming to make a stamp on the game.
The tall right-hander didn't let Tommy John Surgery derail him, notching a 1.29 ERA for the Padres through his three starts to date this season.
Start your morning off on a good note. Here's the moment (presumably) that Chris Paddack found out he made the @Padres#OpeningDay roster.
The match up of the day sees two teams in great form face off.
The Dodgers and Cubs have both won their last two series in convincing fashion only, having only dropped one of their last 6 matches.
On the mound for the Dodgers is the young ace Walker Buehler.
Many experts predicted this to be Buehler's year, with some even tipping him for the CY Young award. However, the up-and-comer has been inconsistent, allowing 12 runs in his 4 starts so far.
His best performance this season was his last start against the Reds, where he pitched 6 1/3 innings, struck out 8 batters and only conceded a single run.
In his groove now, Buehler will take plenty of confidence from this good run and he should kick on with the job now.
A resurgent Cole Hamels is leading the Cubs back to a .500 record and towards a playoff position.
A consistent source of pressure, Hamels has been able to go deep into innings over his past two starts, alleviating the pressure of the Cubs' struggling bullpen.
If the Cubs can frustrate the Dodgers batters into hitting ground balls, they will be a chance.
Key MLB Betting Statistics
Over Hamels' past three starts, the veteran lefty has gone 3-0 with a 1.29 ERA, 19 strikeouts and zero walks in 21 innings.
Buehler has never pitched in Wrigley Field
Free MLB Expert Pick: Los Angeles Dodgers Moneyline @ $1.83
Reasoning: Buehler showed a lot of improvement in his last start.
Bank on him to take confidence out of that performance and go on with it.
Hammels often has a loose game in him and you can expect his form to fall away later into his innings.
Apr 24, 2019 07:01 PM
AAP
Key MLB Betting Statistics
Free MLB Expert Pick: Tampa Bay Rays to cover the -1.5 line @ $1.65
