The Tampa Bay Rays continue their road trip as they head up to Fenway Park to take on the Boston Red Sox. Boston will be looking to bounce back at home after a gruesome 0-3 start. It really doesn't get any worse than getting swept at home by the Baltimore Orioles to open your season. On the other hand, the Rays are off to a 2-1 start after taking their opening series against the Miami Marlins. This will be a fun three-game set between two division rivals with a ton of history. It’s time to continue our MLB odds series and make a Rays-Red Sox prediction and pick.
Here’s how sportsbooks have set the opening Rays-Red Sox odds.
MLB Odds: Rays-Red Sox Odds
Tampa Bay Rays -1.5 (+150)
Boston Red Sox +1.5 (-170)
Over 9.5 Runs (-105)
Under 9.5 Runs (-115)
Why The Rays Could Cover The Spread
The 2020 American League East champions will have a target on their back as they defend their division title in 2021. Tampa Bay is hoping to get back to the Fall Classic this season as well. They will certainly have to take care of business against lackluster teams like the Red Sox to do so. The Rays opened the season by taking two out of three games against the Miami Marlins. They lost the last game of the series 12-7. This was an uncharacteristic loss for a team that is built around pitching and defense.
Tampa Bay's pitching staff had a terrific 2020 season. The rotation ranked third in the league in team ERA and averaged the sixth-most strikeouts in baseball. The offense definitely has some areas of improvement but looked solid against Miami. Austin Meadows had a home run in each of his team's first two games. Although they did give up runs against Miami, Boston's offense doesn't pose nearly as much of a threat. Michael Wacha will get the ball for the Rays in the opening game of this series. He is coming off of a rough year in 2020, going 1-4 with a 6.62 ERA.
Why The Red Sox Could Cover The Spread
The Boston Red Sox are off to a 0-3 start at Fenway Park for the first time since 1948. They were shut out in the opener and scored a total of five runs over three games. After facing a mediocre team in the Orioles, Boston now gets set to host the defending division champs. So what needs to improve for the Red Sox to get back on track? Everything. The offense currently sits near the bottom of the league with a .145 average as a lineup.
It may be too early to tell, but this sort of performance against Baltimore's below-average pitching staff seems like a bit of a fluke. Boston still has a lot of pop in the lineup with guys like Xander Bogaerts and JD Martinez. The Red Sox may never be lights out on the bump but should be able to score runs in 2021. They have a nice matchup against Michael Wacha in the opener. Boston will send out Nick Pivetta, who had a rough 2020 season. He posted a 6.89 ERA with 17 strikeouts. If Boston can get to Wacha and put up early runs, Pivetta can at least attack the strike zone and hope to control an average lineup.
Final Rays-Red Sox Prediction & Pick
The Boston Red Sox have a long uphill battle back to relevance. They are almost a shoo-in for last place in the AL East once again. They were just swept at home by one of the worst teams in baseball. In a game that doesn't see much of an edge on the bump, let's look for the better offense and defense. Both belong to the visiting Tampa Bay Rays. The Red Sox have no identity and the Rays are in a nice bounce-back spot after a tough loss to Miami in the series finale.
FINAL PICK: Tampa Bay Rays ML (-105)
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