Boston Red Sox vs Tampa Bay Rays Prediction 5-15-24 Picks

In this article we will formulate a Boston Red Sox vs Tampa Bay Rays prediction for this MLB game on Wednesday, May 15th at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts. Let’s take a look at the prediction for game three in this series. 

Red Sox Look for Second Straight Win

The Boston Red Sox are 22-20 this season and they have won three of their last four games. Boston lost game one in this series on Monday, but they bounced back with a win in game two by a score of 5-4 on Tuesday. Prior to this series, the Red Sox won two out of three against Washington, lost both games to Atlanta, and lost two out of three against Minnesota. Boston has lost seven of their last eleven games and they are third in the AL East behind the Yankees and Orioles. 

The Boston pitching staff has a 2.78 ERA, a 1.10 WHIP, and a .222 opponent batting average. The Red Sox offense has scored 180 runs with a .242 batting average and a .314 on base percentage. Rafael Devers is batting .282 with four home runs and 14 RBI’s for the Red Sox this season. Boston is first in the MLB in team ERA this season, but they have allowed at least four runs in five of their last seven games. 

Rays Look to Continue Trend

The Tampa Bay Rays are 21-22 this season and they have alternated wins and losses over their last five games. Tampa Bay won the first game in this series by a score of 5-3, but lost game two on Tuesday in extra innings. Prior to this series, the Rays lost two out of three against the Yankees, won two out of three against the White Sox, and swept the Mets in three games. If the trends continue, Tampa Bay would be due for a win here. The Rays have lost four of their last six games and they are fourth in the AL East behind the Yankees, Orioles, and Red Sox. 

The Tampa Bay pitching staff has a 4.34 ERA, a 1.28 WHIP, and a .245 opponent batting average. The Rays offense has scored 176 runs with a .243 batting average and a .313 on base percentage. Isaac Paredes is batting .303 with eight home runs and 23 RBI’s for the Rays this season. Tampa Bay is 18th in runs scored this season, but they have scored at least four runs in seven of their last nine games. 

Starting Pitchers

The projected starting pitcher for Boston is Tanner Houck, who is 3-4 with a 2.24 ERA and a 0.97 WHIP over 52.1 innings pitched this year. Houck has allowed three earned runs or fewer in his last five starts, but has allowed six hits in each of his last two starts. The projected starting pitcher for Tampa Bay is Taj Bradley, who is 0-1 with a 1.50 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP over 6.0 innings pitched this season. Bradley allowed one earned run and four hits over 6.0 innings against the Yankees in his first start. 

Why the Boston Red Sox will win

• The Red Sox have won eight of their last nine home games against the Rays after going to extra innings.
• The Rays have lost each of their last six games as road underdogs after going to extra innings.
• The Rays have failed to cover the run line in five of their last six road games following an extra innings loss.
• The favorites have covered the run line in 11 of the last 14 games between the Rays and Red Sox.
• The Red Sox have led after 5 innings in each of their last eight Wednesday night games as home favorites.

Boston Red Sox vs Tampa Bay Rays Prediction 

These two teams played a very entertaining game on Tuesday night and they will meet for game three out of four in the series here. Boston has the best team ERA in the MLB so far this year, but the pitching has been a little shaky recently. The Red Sox are starting Tanner Houck, who has been solid for them all season. Tampa Bay has improved their play in the last two weeks, but I don’t love Taj Bradley on the mound for them here. My Boston Red Sox vs Tampa Bay Rays prediction is for the Red Sox to get the win.