Red Sox vs. Rays ALDS Game 2 Picks and Predictions

The Tampa Bay Rays jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the American League Divisional Series, beating the Boston Red Sox 5-0 on Thursday night. Now the Rays look to push the Red Sox to the brink with a second straight win in the best-of-five series before heading to Boston.

Read on to take a look at the MLB odds and the best sportsbook to bet with today. 

Boston Red Sox vs. Tampa Bay Rays

Friday, October 08, 2021 – 07:02 PM EDT at Tropicana Field

The Tampa Bay Rays jumped out to a 1-0 lead in their American League Divisional Series with the Boston Red Sox, winning Thursday night’s opener in a 5-0 shutout in Tampa. The Rays now look to push the Red Sox to the brink with a second straight home win in the best-of-five series on Friday night before heading to Boston.

The Red Sox, meanwhile, look to steal home-field advantage with a split in Tampa, then return home with a chance to wrap up the series at Fenway. In a short series, momentum can swing on a dime, so Friday’s game will be a pivotal one between the two American League East rivals.

The Sox will need to find the magic from their Wild Card win over the Yankees, however. After getting timely power-hitting, solid pitching, and strong plays in the field to beat New York, Boston had none of that in the opener against the Rays.

Looking to Get Back a DH

The Red Sox have been playing without designated hitter JD Martinez, who injured his foot stepping on second base while running out onto the field in Sunday’s regular-season finale against Washington. The only reason he was even playing the field is that the interleague game in a National League park meant there was no DH. Martinez was left off the Boston roster for the Wild Card game. The Red Sox included him when setting the active roster for the ALDS, but he didn’t play in Game One.

In an interview in Spanish after the game, manager Alex Cora said that there was a strong possibility Martinez would play in Friday’s Game Two, although he didn’t guarantee it. Including Martinez was one of several interesting decisions Cora made with Boston’s ALDS roster. Former closer Matt Barnes has left off the roster.

“It’s always difficult,” Cora said. “This guy has been here for a while, he’s been there and done that. But the uniqueness of their roster, we have to make some adjustments. We decided to go with the three lefties (Martin Perez, Austin Davis, and Josh Taylor).” Taylor was on the mound when Tampa’s Randy Arozarena caught him napping and stole home in Thursday’s opener.

The team also kept Danny Santana, who hit .181 this year and hasn’t played since Sept. 10, instead of rookie Jarren Duran. “It’s not about he’s better or he’s not better, whatever,” Cora said. “Switch-hitter. He can play the infield, can play the outfield, can steal a base. You put everything in perspective in how we’re going to try and maximize the roster and it just made sense to add Danny in this one.”

Boston will start ace Chris Sale on Friday. He went 5-1 with a 3.16 ERA since returning from elbow surgery in the second half of the season. Opponents have hit .292 against him in his last five starts, however.

Youth Is Served

While the Red Sox chose to keep one of their top prospects off the roster in choosing journeyman Santana over Duran, the Rays are leaning on young players, and the gamble has paid off so far. Shane McClanahan threw five shutout innings in his first career postseason start, and rookie Randy Arozarena continued his postseason heroics with a home run and a steal of home. Rookie Wander Franco doubled twice and drove in the game’s first run.

Tampa will go with another rookie on Friday, giving the ball to Shane Baz for the Game Two start. Baz helped Team USA win the silver medal in the Tokyo Olympics and was only eligible for the Olympic team because Tampa didn’t have him on its 40-man roster. Since returning from Tokyo, he’s made his MLB debut and gone 2-0 with a 2.03 ERA in three starts. Baz will tie the all-time MLB record for the fewest career appearances by a first-time postseason starter.

The Pick

Just about every decision Tampa Bay has made this season has turned out, so it’s tough to doubt the Rays now. But that’s what we’re going to do. While Baz has great stuff, there’s still a value to the experience in the postseason, and turning to him on Friday may be one rookie too many. For your MLB pick, look for Sale to win a big game and even things up for Boston.

MLB Pick: Red Sox (+122) with BetOnline (visit our BetOnline Review)

Red Sox(+122)

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*The pick reflects the line at the moment the writer made the play, the odds at the beginning of this article show the live line movement. Since the lines might vary, don’t forget to refer back to our live odds.

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