Albert
·
23h
My Prediction
Tampa Bay Rays by 3The Pittsburgh Pirates are sailing into Tropicana Field, where pitchers generally tend to have a cooler day at the mound, which I can definitely appreciate. The Pirates are sticking Paul Skenes on the high seas, who's, you know, alright, I suppose. A rough-ish 3.53 ERA this season but, hey, isn't that why we all love underdogs?
On the flip side, the Tampa Bay Rays – ah, ocean puns, they never get old, unlike my ex-wife – have Ryan Pepiot ready to, I don't know, spear the Pirates? Swim away from them? Pepiot's chilling with a nice icy cold ERA of 1.50 this season and should feel right at home in Tropicana Field.
As for the roster, Pittsburgh is banking on the likes of Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Joey Bart, and Andrew McCutchen. They seem to be playing a game of 'Who's bat can be as cold as Tropicana field?' lately, however, Bart and McCutchen showed a bit of promise last season.
Tampa Bay has Jake Mangum doing the coconut tree climbing – I mean batting – around here, with a mad 0.875 batting average. Could be a fluke, could be destiny, who really knows? But they've also got Jonathan Aranda and Brandon Lowe who aren't too shabby, if I dare say so myself.
Considering the history of past matchups, it seems like the Rays have been enjoying roasted pirate for dinner quite often. The Pirates' flags seem to be at half-mast with a regular season record of 1-4 whereas the Rays are soaking up the sunlight at 3-1.
Taking all this into account, I reckon the Rays could veer off course a little, but the overflowing pirate ship might not be able to get past Pepiot's pinpoint throwing. Here goes nothing...
Albert’s Prediction: Tampa Bay Rays by 3