Boston Red Sox (63-40) vs. Tampa Bay Rays (60-42)
July 30, 2021 7:10 pm EDT
The Line: Tampa Bay Rays -140 / Boston Red Sox +120 ; Over/Under: 8.5
(Get latest betting odds)
The Boston Red Sox and the Tampa Bay Rays meet Friday in MLB action from Tropicana Field. The Red Sox are coming off a series versus the Blue Jays. Boston won two of the first three games there, then on Thursday the Sox lost big to split the series. As for the Rays, they played the Yankees this week. Tampa Bay lost the first two games, then on Thursday the Rays struck back with a blowout win. Check back all season long for free MLB picks at Sports Chat Place.
Boston fell to the Blue Jays 4-1 in one of the Wednesday games, but won 5-4 and 4-1 in the other pair. In the Thursday finale, the Red Sox gave up 16 hits in a big 13-1 loss. Eduardo Rodriguez put up 3.1 innings with seven hits, six earned and four walks.
For the starter gig on Friday, the Red Sox will send out Martin Perez. In his 94.2 innings this year Perez has 107 hits, 50 runs (44 earned), 13 homers allowed, 32 walks, 80 Ks and a 4.18 ERA.
Over on the Rays’ side, they had some trouble with the Yankees during tight losses 4-3 Tuesday and 3-1 Wednesday. In the Thursday finale, Tampa Bay destroyed New York in a crazy 14-0 victory. The Rays managed 10 runs in the sixth inning and held New York to just four hits to their 12.
For the starter gig in the Friday opener, the Rays are sending out Josh Fleming. This year Fleming holds a 7-5 record with a 4.07 ERA and 44 strikeouts to his credit.
The Red Sox are 13-3 in their last 16 Friday games and 25-8 in their last 33 in game one of a series. Boston is 29-11 in the last 40 versus the AL East and the under is 5-1 in their last six Friday games.
Meanwhile, the Rays are 4-1 in their last five Friday games and 76-35 in the last 111 home games. Tampa is 70-33 in their last 103 on turf and the under is 4-1 in the last five in game one of a series.
PICK: I’m sticking with the Sox. Perez is going to have to come up with a good start here, though. Over his last three games, he’s given up nine earned on 17 hits in 13.2 innings. That’s three earned runs in each outing with four homers and five walks between them all. Tampa seems to (usually) function better in lower-scoring games, so this one certainly could turn into a tight starter/bullpen battle.
