The Boston Red Sox and the Tampa Bay Rays will both be
gunning for a victory on Friday when they meet at
Tropicana Field in Game 1 of the ALCS.
The Red Sox will give the ball to starter Daisuke
Matsuzaka in this one. Righthander Matsuzaka is 18-3
this season with a 2.97 ERA.
Starting this game for the Rays will be James Shields.
The righthander has a 3.58 ERA to go along with a 15-8
record this season.
Oddsmakers currently have the Rays listed as
115-moneyline favorites versus the Red Sox, while the
game's total is sitting at 8.
Jed Lowrie had an RBI single in the bottom of the
ninth inning on Monday night to give the Red Sox a 3-2
win over the Angels and a series victory.
The Red Sox got the win as -137 home favorites in that
contest, while the combined score fell UNDER the
posted total (8.5).
B.J. Upton homered twice on Monday night to lead the
Rays to a 6-2 series-clinching win over the White Sox.<\/p>\n
The Rays pulled out the victory as +119 road underdogs
in that contest, while the combined score fell UNDER
the night's posted total (8.5).
Team records:
Boston: 95-67 SU
Tampa Bay: 97-65 SU
Boston most recently:
When playing on Friday are 4-6
Before playing Tampa Bay are 5-5
After playing LA Angels are 4-6
After a win are 5-5<\/p>\n
Tampa Bay most recently:
When playing on Friday are 6-4
Before playing Boston are 5-5
After playing Chi White Sox are 6-4
After a win are 6-4
A few trends to consider:
Boston is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games
Boston is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Boston's last 6 games<\/p>\n
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Boston's last 6 games
when playing on the road against Tampa Bay
Tampa Bay is 9-1 SU in its last 10 games when playing
at home against Boston
Tampa Bay is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games
Tampa Bay is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing
Boston
The total has gone OVER in 12 of Tampa Bay's last 15
games at home
Next up:
Tampa Bay home to Boston, Saturday, October 11<\/p>\n