Written by: The Persian
The Boston Red Sox will take on the Tampa Bay Rays in the first of a three-game set starting Tuesday from Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. They toss out the first pitch at 6:50 p.m. Both teams have endured tough seasons, and they need some help and some wins to clinch a playoff spot.
Bookmaker has installed the Rays -110 ML.
The Red Sox have had an interesting season, and they have a ton of room for improvement and growth within the franchise. They have some nice key pieces in their lineup and will most likely add a front-line starter in the offseason. They are 4 1/2 games back in the AL Wild Card standings and will certainly be on the outside looking in.
They entered this series after dropping five of eight games overall.
On offense, they are led by third baseman Rafael Devers, who has had a brilliant season for the Red Sox. He has cracked 28 home runs to go along with 83 runs batted in. He is hitting .278 on the season and is one of three players that have hit 20 or more home runs.
Boston has cracked 186 home runs while batting a solid .255 this season.
They will hand the ball over to the struggling Nick Pivetta, who has a record of just 5-10 on the season and an ERA of 4.24. He has not won a start since last July, when he went 6 2/3 frames in a 14-7 game. The offense backed him that day.
The Rays have had a rough season because they were banking on their starting pitching to get the job done, and this season, they have not been able to put it all together. Last season, their pitching carried them for most of the season.
Tampa's team ERA this season is 3.88, and they have not been able to muster the type of offense to support the poor pitching.
On offense, the Rays are led by first baseman Yandy Diaz, who has smacked 14 home runs and 65 RBI while batting .283 on the season. He has been one of the Rays' most steady and consistent players. In this series, they will look to Diaz to set the tone with his bat.
They will always be much more aggressive at the plate and try to take advantage of Ray's inconsistent pitching.
The Rays are 2-3 in their last five games and 3-2 in their last five games against the spread. They are also 40-35 in their road games against the spread. The totals have gone over in none of their last five games and 35 out of their last 75 at home. The Red Sox are 2-3 in their last five games and 4-1 in their last five games against the number too. They are also 41-34 in their road games against the number.
