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The Boston Red Sox (72-66) and the Tampa Bay Rays (83-55) play the middle outing of a 3-game series Tuesday at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla. First pitch is scheduled for 6:40 p.m. ET. Let’s analyze BetMGM Sportsbook’s lines around the Red Sox vs. Rays odds and make our expert MLB picks and predictions for the best bets.
Season series: Rays lead 7-2
The Red Sox surprised the Rays in the series opener Monday. Boston fell behind 3-0 in the bottom of the 1st inning, but the Red Sox rattled off 7 unanswered runs for the 7-3 victory. The BoSox scored 3 in the top of the 8th for insurance, much to the dismay of Under (8) bettors.
The Rays have now dropped 3 of the past 4 games after an 8-1 run from Aug. 19-30. The offense has been a bit erratic lately, averaging 4.0 runs per game (RPG) across the past 5 games, well below the season average of 5.33 RPG.
Red Sox at Rays projected starters
RHP Kutter Crawford vs. RHP Zach Eflin
Crawford (6-7, 4.08 ERA) makes his 19th start and 27th appearance. He has a 1.14 WHIP, 2.3 BB/9 and 8.9 K/9 in 103 2/3 innings.
- Last start: Loss, 2 2/3 IP, 6 ER, 7 H, 1 BB and 1 K in 7-4 home loss vs. the Houston Astros Wednesday
- 2023 road splits: 6-3, 2.06 ERA (56 2/3 IP, 13 ER), 7 HR, .194 opponent batting average (OBA) in 9 starts and 4 relief appearances
- 2023 vs. Tampa Bay: 0-0, 3.00 ERA (6 IP, 2 ER), 1 HR, 5 K, .182 OBA in 1 start and 1 relief appearance
Eflin (13-8, 3.40 ERA) makes his 27th start. He has a 1.02 WHIP, 1.2 BB/9 and 9.0 K/9 in 150 2/3 innings.
- Last start: No-decision, 6 1/3 IP, 0 ER, 4 H, 0 BB, 4 K in 3-0 road win vs. Miami Marlins Wednesday
- 2023 home splits: 10-4, 3.05 ERA (88 2/3 IP, 30 ER), 10 HR, .228 OBA in 15 starts
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Red Sox at Rays odds
Provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 5:55 a.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): Red Sox +135 (bet $100 to win $135) | Rays -160 (bet $160 to win $100)
- Run line (RL)/Against the spread (ATS): Red Sox +1.5 (-155) | Rays -1.5 (+125)
- Over/Under (O/U): 8 (O: -115 | U: -105)
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Red Sox at Rays picks and predictions
Prediction
Rays 4, Red Sox 3
Moneyline
The RAYS (-160) are a decent play as a moderate favorite as they look for the bounce back.
Eflin started off rather unhittable at home this season, but he had some issues in July. He started to pull things together again in August, posting a 2.62 ERA, which was his best split of any month. He is a strong play against Boston and Crawford.
Run line/Against the spread
The RED SOX +1.5 (-155) aren’t priced out of line if you’d like a little bit of insurance. After winning outright as an underdog, Boston should keep it close against Tampa Bay in Game 2 of this series. While it’s unlikely the BoSox see Crawford outpitch Eflin, the young right-hander has actually been better on the road than at home. This will be a surprising pitcher’s duel.
Over/Under
UNDER 8 (-105) is the lean, but play it very lightly.
While the Over cashed in Monday’s series opener, the Under is still 3-1 in the past 4 meetings between these AL East foes.
While the Over is an amazing 16-1-1 in the past 18 games overall for Boston, Eflin should be able to baffle the offense and keep scores down.
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For more sports betting picks and tips, check out SportsbookWire.com and BetFTW.
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