Tampa Bay Rays vs. Boston Red Sox Picks, Predictions, Odds

Tampa Bay Rays vs. Boston Red Sox Betting Analysis

The Red Sox host the Rays in the first contest of a three-game set at Fenway Park on Friday, August 26th.

Tampa Bay is sitting in the second place of the American League East standings at 69-55, while owning a 27-32 record away from Tropicana Field. The Rays are also seven games behind the Yankees for first place in the division. Boston falls fifth in the American League East standings with a record of 60-65 overall and 29-33 at home, which puts them 16.5 games back for the division lead.

Updated on 12/23/2024

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Tampa Bay Rays vs. Boston Red Sox Betting Prediction

Tampa Bay enters this matchup second in the AL East standings, seven games behind the New York Yankees for first place. Good news for the Rays, if they are not able to catch the Yankees to win the division, they are currently first in the AL Wild Card race. Prior to the start of this series Tampa Bay swept the Angels in a four-game series and have won eight of their last 10 games. The offense has been a bit inconsistent this season and rank towards the bottom half of the league with a batting average of .239 (20th), on base percentage of .308 (21st), slugging percentage of .379 (21st) and have scored 520 total runs (21st). The Ray’s bullpen is the main reason for their success with a WHIP of 1.13 (4th) and team ERA of 3.29 (3rd).  

Boston is currently last in the AL East standings, 16 and a half games behind the New York Yankees for first place. Even the Wild Card is slipping away as they currently sit eight games behind the Mariners for the third spot. The Red Sox went 0-3 SU in their most reason series against the Blue Jays and have lost six of their last 10 games. The offense has been solid for Boston throughout the season with a batting average of .255 (7th), on base percentage of .315 (13th), slugging percentage of .406 (11th) and 558 total runs (11th). Boston’s bullpen has been the primary problem with a WHIP of 1.33 (24th) and team ERA of 4.46 (25th).  

The Rays are 8-2 SU against the Red Sox this season. Despite Tampa’s dominance I like Boston in game one of this series. JT Chargois has limited action on the season and may struggle against the Red Sox hitters. Also, Michael Wacha will be taking the mound for Boston and has pitched very well with an 8-1 SU record. Backing the Red Sox moneyline here.  

Score Prediction: Red Sox 5, Rays 4
Best Bet: Red Sox ML (-125)

Tampa Bay Rays vs. Boston Red Sox Betting Odds

Tampa Bay Rays vs. Boston Red Sox Betting Resources

• Date: Friday, August 26, 2022
• Matchup: AL East
• Venue: Fenway Park
• Location: Boston, Massachusetts
• Time-TV: 7:10 p.m. ET – Apple TV

Tampa Bay Rays vs. Boston Red Sox – Current Form

The Rays have played excellent recently, highlighted by Tampa Bay posting back-to-back series victories over the Royals and the Angels squads, resulting in a solid 7-1 record across that window. The Angels scored only one run against the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday, which was Tampa Bay’s best result in the last two series.

Tampa Bay cruised past the Los Angeles Angels on Tuesday by plating 11 runs in the second of a game of the series. In Wednesday’s game, the second of three they played against the Toronto Blue Jays, Boston's offense only managed to produce two runs.

Tampa Bay Rays vs. Boston Red Sox – Pitching Matchup

Tampa Bay: JT Chargois (1-0, 0.00 ERA)

Tampa Bay’s right-hander JT Chargois takes the mound for his first start of the season. This is the first start of the season on the road for Chargois, who is looking to improve on a 1-0 record and 0.75 WHIP across three bullpen appearances.

Boston: Michael Wacha (8-1, 2.28 ERA)

Red Sox' RHP Michael Wacha toes the rubber for his 15th start of the season as he looks to improve on a 8-1 mark and 2.28 ERA. The right-hander has put together a 1.04 WHIP to go along with 63 strikeouts and 24 walks in 83 innings of work. Boston’s 31-year-old right-hander earned the win in his last start, which came on the road against the Baltimore Orioles August 20, 2022. He threw 5.2 innings, in that game he had four hits with one walk and four strikeouts in a 3-4 the Red Sox victory. Pitching at home this season, Wacha is 4-1 with a 1.14 ERA, a 0.89 WHIP, 11 walks and 34 strikeouts over 39.1 innings in seven starts.

Tampa Bay Rays vs. Boston Red Sox – Series History

Tampa Bay had a great 2021 season in this matchup, tallying a 12-11 mark against Boston. This season, Tampa Bay has also dominated, picking up eight wins in 10 meetings.