David Price will head to the hill for the Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday night as they look to even up their best-of-five ALDS against John Lackey and the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park.
Tampa Bay was bounced 12-2 by Boston in Game 1 of the series on Friday. Lefthander Price is 10-6 with a 2.93 ERA over his 20 career starts against the Red Sox; he held them to two runs on three hits over eight innings back on September 10.
View Tampa Bay Rays vs Boston Red Sox Odds and Stats.
The moneyline was hovering in the range of 105 for the Red Sox in this one over at Sportsbook. The over under number was sitting near 7.5 at Sportsbook.
The MLB Power Rankings show a disparity between these teams, with the Red Sox rated this week at No. 4 and the Rays sitting at No. 13.
Last time out for Tampa Bay, they were a 12-2 loser as they battled the Red Sox on the road. Moneyline bettors who got the Red Sox at -142 were rewarded, while the 14 combined runs moved the game OVER for totals bettors. Tampa Bay was scored on plenty on Friday, falling behind early and watching runners cross the plate all game in a 12-2 loss to Boston.
How They Match Up:
The game also pits Boston's No. 1-rated offense, averaging 5.31 runs per game, against a Rays defense that ranks No. 12 at 3.99 in runs allowed per game. The Red Sox have averaged 9.69 hits per game so far, more than Rays batters have averaged on the year (8.68 hits per game).
Boston owns the No. 13 defense, allowing 5.31 men per game to cross the plate. That contrasts with Tampa Bay's No. 12-rated defense.
A few Rays at Red Sox trends to consider:
Tampa Bay is 10-3 SU in its last 13 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Tampa Bay's last 6 games
Tampa Bay is 9-4 SU in its last 13 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Tampa Bay's last 6 games on the road
Boston is 16-8 SU in its last 24 games
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Boston's last 5 games
Boston is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Boston's last 7 games at home
Next up:
Tampa Bay at Boston, Monday, October 7th
