The Boston Red Sox enter their final MLB betting series before the All-Star break, a four-game set versus divisional leaders the Boston Red Sox. The two clubs have net twice this season; the Red Sox won three of four from April 14th-17th, while the Rays won two of three from May 12th-14th.
Time: 7:10 PM
Venue: Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg
Online gambling odds for fans who bet on baseball:
Red Sox -1½ (-105) 7½ (+110) -163
Rays +1½ (-115) 7½ (-130) +153
Boston Red Sox (49-36)
On the mound: Chris Sale (LHP, 11-3, 2.61 ERA, 166 K) allowed the Blue Jays four hits and struck out 11 in seven scoreless innings on Saturday; the 11th time this season he has reached double-figure Ks (thus becoming he sixth pitcher in history to amass as many as 11 starts with double-digit strikeouts before the All-Star Game), and the third without surrendering a run. Sale has won each of his last three starts and 10 of his last 11. He has given up just five earned runs in his last 29 2/3 innings, and the Red Sox are 13-4 during his starts this season, having won seven of Sale’s past eight starts. Sale paces the MLB with 166 strikeouts. The only BoSox pitcher to have done so at the All-Star break was Roger Clemens in 1988 (186) and 1991 (123).
Trends for fans who bet on baseball: Boston has won and covered in six of the last seven games and in five of the last six road games. The MLB betting total has gone over in two thirds of the Red Sox’s last six games and over in six of their last eight on the road.
Tampa Bay Rays (44-42)
On the mound: Jacob Faria (RHP, 3-0, 2.23 ERA, 35 K) has struck out 35, walked five and had five quality starts in his first five career appearances – only the third pitcher since 2013 to start his career with five straight quality starts. Sinistral batters are 7-for-30 (.233) with a .491 OPS versus Faria. Only 5.8% of Faria’s pitches to left-handers have hit the inside third of the strike zone or been off the plate inside, which is the lowest rate for any dextral starter with a minimum of 100 pitches.
Miscellanea: “In our division alone, it seems like every week somebody’s jumping somebody or going back,” manager Kevin ‘Nash’ Cash said. “In the [AL] East, I think you anticipated it from the get-go. Some of these other teams are playing really well, and that’s kind of jumbled everything up as far as the Wild Cards go.”
Trends for fans who bet on baseball: The Rays have won two thirds of their last 12 home games but have covered in only 2 of their last seven at Tropicana Field. Conversely, TB is 2-5 straight-up but 4-1 against the spread in the last seven and five times, respectively, hosting the Red Sox. The MLB betting total has gone under in five of the Rays’ last five home games versus the BoSox.