Red Sox-Rays Odds Preview

By JoeDuffy.net Administrator

The fans at Tropicana Field will be treated to a game between the Boston Red Sox and the Tampa Bay Rays when they take their seats on Thursday.

Ace righthander Josh Beckett will take the mound for the Red Sox to start this game. Beckett is 2-1 this season with a 6.00 ERA.

The Rays will counter Beckett with Matt Garza. Righthander Garza has a 4.97 ERA to go along with a 1-2 record this season.

Oddsmakers currently have the Rays listed as 105-moneyline favorites versus the Red Sox, while the game’s total has not yet been posted.

Jonathan Van Every belted a game-winning home run to give the Red Sox a 6-5 victory over the Indians on Wednesday, as -130 favorites. The game’s 11 runs made it OVER the posted over/under (9.5).

Jacoby Ellsbury went 3-for-5 at the plate and drove in one run for the Red Sox. Hideki Okajima tossed an inning of relief for the win, and Jonathan Papelbon collected his sixth save.

The Rays were defeated 8-3 by the Twins as a -115 favorite last time out. That game’s 11 runs made it OVER the posted over/under (8).

Evan Longoria drove in two runs, while Scott Kazmir gave up nine hits and eight runs over four innings in suffering the loss.

Current streak:
Tampa Bay has lost 2 straight games.

Team records:
Boston: 14-7 SU
Tampa Bay: 8-14 SU

Boston most recently:
When playing on Thursday are 3-7
Before playing Tampa Bay are 5-5
After playing Cleveland are 7-3
After a win are 9-1

Tampa Bay most recently:
When playing on Thursday are 9-1
Before playing Boston are 6-4
After playing Minnesota are 5-5
After a loss are 4-6

A few trends to consider:
Boston is 12-1 SU in its last 13 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Boston’s last 5 games when playing Tampa Bay
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Boston’s last 6 games when playing on the road against Tampa Bay
Boston is 6-13 SU in its last 19 games when playing Tampa Bay
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Tampa Bay’s last 5 games when playing Boston
Tampa Bay is 11-3 SU in its last 14 games when playing at home against Boston
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Tampa Bay’s last 7 games at home
Tampa Bay is 13-6 SU in its last 19 games when playing Boston

Next up:
Tampa Bay home to Boston, Friday, May 1