Tampa Bay Rays vs. Texas Rangers MLB Betting Preview | September 16

Mark Mathias brings a two-game home run streak into the Texas Rangers’ (62-81) matchup against the Tampa Bay Rays (80-63). The Rays are favored on the moneyline (-145) over the Rangers (+123), and it begins at 7:10 PM ET on Friday at Tropicana Field. Tampa Bay has Corey Kluber starting things off, and Texas will send out Martin Perez.

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Game Info, Betting Lines for Rays vs. Rangers

• Game Day: Friday, September 16, 2022
• Game Time: 7:10 PM ET
• Location: St. Petersburg, Florida
• Stadium: Tropicana Field

Rays Stats & Trends

Rays Batting

• The Rays average 0.9 home runs per game to rank 24th in MLB play with 127 total home runs .
• The Rays have the 14th-ranked batting average in the league (.242).
• The Rays are 20th in the league with an on-base percentage of .311.
• The Rays strike out 8.6 times per game, the No. 20 mark in baseball.
• The Rays average 0.9 homers per game when playing at home this season (65 total in home outings).
• The Rays are averaging 2.8 extra-base hits per game while slugging .390 in home contests.
• The team is batting .242 with 552 hits (7.8 per game) at home this season.

Rays Key Batters

• Yandy Diaz has 133 hits this season and a team-best OBP of .402.
• Among qualified hitters in MLB, Diaz ranks 17th in batting average, fourth in on-base percentage, and 67th in slugging.
• Diaz will look for his third straight game with a hit in this contest. In his last five games he is batting .353 with a home run, a walk and three RBI.
• Randy Arozarena has 142 hits to go with a slugging percentage of .454, both of which lead Tampa Bay hitters this season.
• Among qualifying batters, Arozarena ranks 48th in batting average, 66th in on-base percentage and 46th in slugging percentage.
• Harold Ramirez is batting .315 with a .426 slugging percentage and 54 RBI this year.
• David Peralta is batting .254 with a .318 OBP and 52 RBI for Tampa Bay this season.
• Peralta heads into this game on a two-game hitting streak. In his last five games he is hitting .294 with two walks and an RBI.

Rangers Stats & Trends

Rangers Batting

• The Rangers have hit 177 homers this season, which ranks eighth in the league.
• The Rangers’ .242 batting average ranks 14th in the league this season.
• The Rangers have an OBP of .305 this season, which ranks 24th in MLB.
• The Rangers rank 23rd in MLB in strikeouts per game with an average of 8.8 whiffs per contest.
• They’ve hit 84 homers, an average of 1.2 per game, in 72 road contests this season.
• They are slugging .393 in 72 road games this season.
• In 72 road games this season, they have a batting average of .242 while averaging 8.4 base hits per contest.

Rangers Key Batters

• Marcus Semien is batting .247 with 28 doubles, five triples, 23 home runs and 47 walks.
• Including all the qualifying players in the big leagues, Semien’s batting average ranks 85th, his on-base percentage ranks 113th, and he is 65th in slugging.
• Semien brings a four-game hitting streak into this game. During his last five outings he is hitting .348 with three doubles, a triple, two home runs and six RBI.
• Corey Seager is hitting .243 with 19 doubles, a triple, 30 home runs and 56 walks.
• Seager is currently 95th in batting average, 89th in on-base percentage and 48th in slugging percentage among all qualifying batters.
• Adolis Garcia is hitting .253 with 29 doubles, five triples, 25 home runs and 36 walks.
• Nate Lowe’s 162 hits, .363 on-base percentage and .503 slugging percentage are all team-highs.

Rays vs. Rangers Probable Pitchers