Boston Hopes to end Fenway Park Slump vs. Tampa Bay

The Boston Red Sox fell to 0-3 at Fenway Park for just the second time in franchise history this weekend when they got swept by the Baltimore Orioles. The Red Sox will be looking for better results in a three-game series at home against the Tampa Bay Rays starting on Monday night.

Sportsbook Odds Analysis

Tampa Bay opened as a slight -110 favorite on the road and is still sitting at that price. The Red Sox are a +100 underdog at home after being a favorite of over -160 in each of their three games against the Orioles. The total has remained set at 9.5 runs; the OVER is 5-1 in the last six games between Boston and Tampa Bay.

Starting Pitchers Analysis

Michael Wacha suffered through the worst season of his career in 2020 making just eight starts for the New York Mets and posting an ugly 1-4 record with a 6.62 ERA and a 1.56 WHIP. The Rays are hoping that the veteran right-hander can return to his old form and put up numbers closer to his career averages of a 4.01 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP this season.

Nick Pivetta made two starts for the Red Sox in 2020 and pitched well in both of them to earn himself a 2-0 record with a 1.80 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP. After producing an abysmal 5.58 team ERA last season, the Red Sox will be counting on Pivetta to help shore up the pitching staff this year.

Tampa Bay News & Notes

Rich Hill and Chris Archer had rough nights on the mound on Saturday night as they allowed a combined eight runs in six innings en route to a 12-7 loss to the Miami Marlins. It was Tampa Bay’s first loss of the season after the Rays earned wins of 1-0 on Thursday and 6-4 on Friday on the road against the Marlins. Austin Meadows is off to a nice start to 2021 with three runs and two home runs in his first 11 at bats.

Tampa Bay’s biggest challenge this season will be replacing the production of Blake Snell and Charlie Morton. The Rays added Michael Wacha, Rich Hill, and Collin McHugh this season in the hopes of shoring up the starting rotation behind Tyler Glasnow, Chris Archer, and Ryan Yarbrough. The offense should continue to produce as it did in 2020, but repeating last season’s success will likely come down to the pitching staff.

Boston News & Notes

Nathan Eovaldi and Tanner Houck both pitched well enough to win in their respective starts for the Red Sox, but a lack of run support left Boston with a 3-0 loss on Friday and a 4-2 loss on Saturday. The offense wasn’t much better in an 11-3 loss to the Orioles on Sunday. J.D. Martinez has Boston’s only home run of the season and three of the team’s five runs batted in.

The Red Sox were terrible in 2020 with a 24-36 record, but they did start turning things around with a 12-9 record down the stretch after their dismal 12-27 start. There is enough talent here to at least be competitive in the wild card race, but the last thing Boston can afford is to dig itself into another deep hole out of the gate.