Boston Red Sox (93-70) vs. Tampa Bay Rays (100-62)
October 7, 2021 8:07 pm EDT
The Line: Tampa Bay Rays -160 / Boston Red Sox +140; Over/Under: 7.5
(Get latest betting odds)
The Boston Red Sox and the Tampa Bay Rays meet in game one of the ALDS in MLB action from Tropicana Field on Thursday night.
The Boston Red Sox come into this one full of confidence after taking out the Yankees in the Wild Card game by a final count of 6-2. Alex Verdugo led the way with a double and three RBIs while Xander Bogaerts and Kyle Schwarber each had a home run with Bogaerts opening the scoring with a two-run blast while Schwarber had a solo shot. Kevin Plawecki had a double while Hunter Renfroe and Enrique Hernandez each had base hits as well to finish off the offense for the Red Sox in victory. Nathan Eovaldi got the win after allowing just one run on four hits while striking out eight over 5.1 innings of work. Eduardo Rodriguez will make the start here and was 13-8 with a 4.74 ERA and 185 strikeouts in the regular season.
The Tampa Bay Rays come into the postseason as the top seed in the AL after posting a 100-62 mark in the regular season, the first 100-win season in Tampa Bay Rays history. Randy Arozarena leads the Rays with a .274 batting average, a .356 OBP, 145 hits along with 32 doubles and 3 triples while Joey Wendle has a team-high 4 triples. Brandon Lowe leads Tampa Bay with 39 home runs while Austin Meadows has a team-high 106 RBIs this season. Shane McClanahan will start here and was 10-6 with a 3.43 ERA and 141 strikeouts this season.
Boston is 9-1 in their last 10 playoff games and 4-0 in their last 4 games overall while the under is 6-0 in their last 6 games against a left-handed starter. Tampa Bay is 4-1 in their last 5 ALDS home games and 11-3 in their last 14 Thursday games while the under is 7-1 in their last 8 games against a team with a winning record.
I get the case that’s made for the Rays at home here, but realistically, I’m of the belief that a layoff can hurt you as the top-seed playing the Wild Card game, especially in game one. The Red Sox are full of momentum right now after taking out the Yankees and while the Rays come in fresher, rest could equal to rust and that’s what I’m banking on here. I’ll take my chances with the Red Sox to steal game one as I have Boston winning the series.
