The Boston Red Sox will do battle against their AL East foe Tampa Bay Rays in a Wednesday night game. New England Sports Network will be televising the matchup. The game gets underway at 12:10 p.m. ET.
Boston Red Sox vs. Tampa Bay Rays Odds
Tampa Bay (-110) is hosting this one as the favorite over Boston (+100) and Vegas has put the Over/Under for this afternoon’s game at 8 runs. Odds for betting on the game’s total currently sit at -120 for the under and +100 for the over. Bettors can also wager on the game’s runline with the most recent odds standing at -210 for the Red Sox +1.5 runs and +175 for the Rays -1.5 runs.
The Rays are 57-47 straight up (SU) and 53-50 against the spread (ATS). The team has lost 6.7 units for bettors taking the moneyline and 2.8 units ATS. Tampa Bay has covered the spread only once in its last seven games and the under has hit in four of those seven. The Red Sox have gone 56-46 SU this year and are 44-57 ATS. Overall, the club has lost 17.7 units for gamblers taking the moneyline and 18.9 units ATS. Boston is 3-4 ATS over its last seven games and the over has hit in four of those seven.
Rays games have had an over/under record of 43-53-7 in 2019. Boston has been a strong over bet with a total record of 58-40-3.
The southpaw David Price is projected to start for Boston. Price is 7-3 with a 3.61 ERA and 106 strikeouts. He’s 1-1 with 27 strikeouts and a 2.65 ERA against Tampa Bay this year (three starts).
The Rays are turning to Charlie Morton (11-3, 2.61 ERA). Morton has 152 strikeouts and 41 walks, along with a WHIP of 1.06. Morton is 1-0 with 14 strikeouts and a 3.75 ERA across two starts against Boston this year.
As a unit, Tampa Bay’s pitching staff has allowed 3.8 runs per game overall this season. Its starters have a 3.18 ERA, 1.07 WHIP and 10.0 strikeouts per nine innings. The bullpen has a 3.85 ERA, 1.24 WHIP and 9.1 K/9. In 46 games against AL East foes, Rays starters have an ERA of 3.11 and the bullpen’s ERA is 4.98.
The Tampa Bay offense is putting up 4.6 runs per outing, including 4.5 per game against divisional foes and 3.0 per game over its last five. The team has hit .198/.291/.317 over its last five contests and is 1-4 SU during that span.
Outfielders Tommy Pham and Avisail Garcia have led the Rays’ offense this year. Pham is slashing .271/.370/.450 with 15 home runs, 44 RBIs, 46 runs and 10 steals, while Garcia’s line sits at .275/.333/.439 with 13 homers, 46 RBIs, 43 runs and nine stolen bases.
In the visiting dugout, Boston’s pitching staff allowed 5.1 runs per game and its starters own a 4.71 ERA, 1.31 WHIP and 9.59 K/9. The bullpen has managed an ERA of 4.61, along with a K-per-9 of 10.70.
The Red Sox offense has slashed .272/.348/.465 on its way to 5.7 runs scored per game in 2019, including 5.4 runs per game against divisional foes and 6.6 per game over the team’s last five contests (3-2 SU).
Third baseman Rafael Devers and shortstop Xander Bogaerts continue to lead Boston’s hitters. Devers is hitting .322/.375/.564 with 20 home runs, 77 RBIs and 80 runs scored, while Bogaerts is hitting .312/.400/.564 with 21 homers, 76 RBIs and 78 runs scored.
The Red Sox have lost 6.6 units and are 33-39 ATS when facing a righty starter this season. The over has hit in 41 of those games, compared to 29 that’ve gone under in such games. On the other hand, the Rays have netted 0.5 units and are 20-17 ATS when facing a left-handed starting pitcher. The over’s hit in 14 of those games, compared to 21 which went under the total.
Red Sox vs. Rays Prediction
Predictions: SU Winner – Rays, ATS Winner – Red Sox, O/U – OVER
Betting Notes
- Boston has recorded 20 extra-base hits over its last five outings. Tampa Bay has 13 XBH over its last five.
- The Red Sox have a team OPS of .813 this season and an OPS of .826 against right-handed pitchers. The Rays’ OPS sits at .750 overall and .762 against righties.
- The Rays have dropped seven of their last eight games SU.
- Boston has recorded 26.5 Runs + Hits + Errors per game over its last 10 games and 25.4 over its last five.
- The Red Sox have hit 17 home runs in their last 10 games, including 10 over their last five.
