From Fenway Park in Boston, we have the Rays and Red Sox facing off in an AL East matchup. First pitch for Friday’s matchup is set for 7:10 PM ET. NESN will be televising this one, and the Red Sox are favored on the money line (-133).
The forecast for Friday’s matchup calls for cloudy skies and temperatures in the mid-70s. Nick Pivetta is set to start for the Red Sox, while the Rays are starting Taj Bradley. Tampa Bay is 3rd in the AL East, while the Red Sox are 80-79 overall. The Rays are on a three-game losing streak and are +114 on the money line.
Can Tampa Bay Break Their Road Struggles?
The Tampa Bay Rays are 78-81 this season, and they are 4th in the AL East, 15 games behind the Yankees. They are 24-25 against other AL East teams. On the road, the Rays are 36-42 compared to 42-39 at home. As the underdog, they are 25-31 and 41-50 as the favorite. Their overall series record is 23-20-7. The Rays are on the road against the Red Sox today, and the over/under line is set at 8 runs. So far, the Rays have gone over 17 times when the line is set at 8 runs, under 24 times, and pushed twice. Overall, 46 of their games have had over/under lines set at 8 runs, which is 28.9% of their games.
Taj Bradley is 7-11 with a 4.29 ERA this season, and he has a WHIP of 1.25. He has nine quality starts this season and is averaging 10.02 strikeouts per nine innings. Bradley most recently pitched on September 21st, where he went five innings and gave up one earned run. The Rays are 29th in scoring at 3.7 runs per game. Yandy Díaz leads the team in batting average (.282), on-base percentage (.342), and RBI (65). Jonathan Aranda has five hits in his last 19 at-bats (.263) with three homers. Ben Rortvedt is on a 3-game hitting streak.
Red Sox Look to Extend Winning Streak
Boston is 80-79 overall and 3rd in the AL East, trailing the Yankees by 13 games. They are 24-25 in divisional games and 37-41 at home. As the favorite, they are 41-35 and 39-44 as the underdog. The Red Sox have won two straight series and two straight at home. Their over/under record is 78-73, and the average over/under line in their games is 9 runs. Today, the line is set at 8 runs.
Nick Pivetta is 6-11 with a 4.21 ERA and has a .228 BAA. He will be looking to build off his last outing, where he went five innings and gave up one earned run. The Red Sox are 9th in runs per game, and their top hitters are Jarren Duran, Rafael Devers, and Tyler O’Neill. Devers has 83 RBI, and O’Neill is 11th in home runs. Duran is on a 6-game hitting streak and is hitting .310 over his last 7 games.
Pivetta Poised for Victory
Our predicted final score for this one is 5-4 in favor of the Red Sox, and with them being at -133 on the money line, that is the way we recommend playing this one. As for the Rays, they are predicted to score four runs, and with their money line sitting at +114, we don’t see them as a good pick.
Looking at the starting pitchers, we have Nick Pivetta finishing with seven strikeouts compared to Taj Bradley with seven. Pivetta is also predicted to go longer in this one, and his chances of picking up a win are much higher, as he is sitting at third best compared to Bradley at 14th.
