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The Tampa Bay Rays and Boston Red Sox played their first of a four-game set on Monday, with the Rays grabbing a 5-3 victory. It was their seventh win in ten games, as they are attempting to climb back up the American League East standings. The teams entered this series with not much separating them in the standings, but they still sit over 5.5 games back of the Orioles and Yankees at the top. It is time to continue our MLB odds series with a Rays-Red Sox prediction, pick, and how-to-watch.
Taj Bradley is in line to get the start for the Rays after losing his first start of the season against the Yankees. It wasn't Bradley's fault, as he went six innings with just four hits and one earned run, but the Yankees shut out his offense to win 2-0. Bradley strained his right pectoral muscle during Spring Training, which kept him out for the first six weeks. Bradley started 21 games for the Rays in 2023, going 5-8 with a 5.59 ERA.
Tanner Houck is starting for the Red Sox, and the right-hander hasn't won since April 17th. He is 0-3 with a no-decision over his last four starts, but much like Bradley in his first start, it's more an issue of poor run support. Houck allowed three or fewer earned runs over those starts and has an impressive 2.24 ERA on the season.
Here are the MLB Odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
MLB Odds: Rays-Red Sox Odds
Tampa Bay Rays: +1.5 (-182)
Moneyline: +116
Boston Red Sox: -1.5 (+150)
Moneyline: -134
Over: 9 (-105)
Under: 9 (-115)
How to Watch Rays vs. Red Sox
Time: 7:10 PM ET/4:10 PM PT
TV: Bally Sports Sun, New England Sports Network, MLB.TV
Stream: fuboTV (Click for free trial)
Why The Rays Will Cover The Spread/Win
These teams are going in opposite directions, as is evidenced by the Rays being 7-3 over their last ten, and the Red Sox record being flipped to 3-7. Boston gave their fans hope to begin the season after a disappointing offseason, but they are returning to the form that people expected. The Red Sox offense will be their downfall, as they have scored more than two runs just four times over those ten games.
Why The Red Sox Will Cover The Spread/Win
The Red Sox may not be too concerned with facing Taj Bradley. He looked good in his first start, but if his 2023 season tells us anything, Bradley won't be able to keep up that production. It may not necessarily happen in this game, but Bradley will have some regression at some point, and the Red Sox hope it can happen here to kickstart their offense. The Red Sox need any help they can get.
Final Rays-Red Sox Prediction & Pick
There won't be a lot of offense to be found in this game, as both starting pitchers have learned that they aren't going to get much run support. There have been more than nine runs in only one of Houck's starts this season, and the under has hit in four straight starts. Only one of Boston's last ten games has gone over, as their offense is scoring just 2.6 runs per game over their last ten.
The Rays offense has been hitting well, but most of their success has come against left-handed pitching. Over their last ten games, the Rays are batting just .238 against righties, averaging 3.9 runs/nine.
The only issue with taking the under in this game is that both teams have subpar bullpens. The Rays have a 4.56 ERA but are improving, boasting a 4.25 mark over their last three games. The Red Sox bullpen has a 3.00 ERA this season but is 5.02 over their last three.
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Final Rays-Red Sox Prediction & Pick: Under 9 (-115)
