As the season winds down Boston finds themselves in a comfortable 3.5 game lead in the AL East. Still, they know that pillowy cushion can be flattened pretty easily with one bad weekend which is why the 9/8 Free MLB Pick is more important than it may seem. The Sox have righted their ship a bit lately and tonight look to continue a two game winning streak as they take on the Tampa Bay Rays at Fenway Park.
Tampa is on a last stand of sorts in terms of their 2017 postseason chances. The Rays sit 3.5 games out of the wild card race but with three teams to leap frog (Rangers, Orioles, Angels) in order to catch the Yankees and/or Twins. They send their ace to the mound in a place he has struggled mightily.
9/8 Free MLB Pick Pitching Matchup
Chris Archer (9-8) takes the hill for Tampa with plenty of rest. Archer pitched to only two batters in his last start against the White Sox after experience tightness in the back of his right (throwing) arm. It should be noted, he gave up a HR to each of those Chicago batters he faced and simply didn’t look right from the get-go.
Archer last faced Boston on July 9th and had a relatively decent outing compared to his past experiences against the division leaders. The Red Sox did score 3R on 8H but Tampa was able to capture a 5-3 lead. Overall, Archer is a stunning 2-11 with a 5.06 ERA over his career against the Red Sox.
#Rays Rays morning after: Chris Archer pleased to make quick return to mound tonight vs. Red Sox https://t.co/ocJ7igHs5y #SportsRoadhouse
— The Trop SRH (@TropSRH) September 8, 2017
The Red Sox counter with lefty Drew Pomeranz (14-5) on the mound. “Big Smooth” loves pitching at Fenway, where he is 7-2 with a 3.26 ERA on the season. Boston fans hope to wash the taste out of their mouths from last nights Patriots season opener as Pomeranz returns to his normal form. This wasn’t the case in his last outing as he gave up 7H and 4ER to the Yankees of all teams. Prior to that, Pomeranz had allowed only 8R his last 6 starts total.
Pomeranz is 1-1 against the Rays his last two starts. The 11-2 Red Sox loss on May 14th was a bit misleading as the Rays scored 7 in the 9th. Last time out the lefty allowed just 2ER on 6H in an 8-3 Red Sox win.
“Let’s hope Pomeranz didn’t hit the wine too hard last night after the 42-27 Chiefs win”
9/8 Free MLB Pick Betting Matchup
The Red Sox have won two in a row but prior to that they were losers in 4 of 5 games. That would be disheartening if it weren’t for the fact that Tampa has lost 3 of 5 themselves. Oddsmakers have made Boston a -129 favorite which is good value for a division leader. Pomeranz wasn’t sharp in his last outing, but he’s still less of a question mark than Archer who was distressed in his last one and has been beaten mercilessly by Boston over his career. You go with the home team at that price for the 9/8 Free MLB Pick.
Pick – Boston -129
