Red Sox vs. Rays MLB Picks and Predictions

It’s the proverbial tale of two teams headed in opposite directions on Wednesday’s baseball betting card as the Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays continue their set in the Sunshine State.

Boston Red Sox vs. Tampa Bay Rays

Wednesday, September 01, 2021 – 07:10 PM EDT at Tropicana Field

Tampa Bay has taken the first two games from Boston by MLB scores of 6-1 and 8-5, giving the Rays a 9-game win streak heading into the Hump Day matchup. The two victories gave the Rays a 9-5 advantage in the season series with the Red Sox, while the totals split Monday and Tuesday to leave matchups at Tropicana Field 5-3 O/U.

More importantly, the wins have given Tampa Bay an extra cushion at the top of the AL East standings now that September has arrived on the slate. Boston turns to Chris Sale (3-0, 2.35) to stop its slide as well as end the Rays’ win streak, and top sportsbooks have the Red Sox favored in the -115 to -120 range. Drew Rasmussen (1-1, 3.46) is on the mound for Tampa Bay, and the total can be found at 7½-8 at various top sportsbooks.

Red Sox Lose Another Player to Virus Protocols

In dropping the first two games of the series, Boston has dipped a full 10-games behind the Rays in the division race, and seen its advantage in the AL wild card chase shrink to just a game in front of the Oakland A’s. Their roster is already depleted by COVID-19, the Red Sox also lost shortstop Xander Bogaerts midway through Tuesday’s tilt due to a positive test.

Giving Sale an extra day between starts has worked perfectly for the Reds Sox who have won all three of his assignments since returning from Tommy John surgery in August. Sale worked into the sixth last Thursday against the Twins, allowing Minnesota two runs in Boston’s 12-2 win as -260 chalk on the MLB betting odds. The bats have given Sale all of the offense needed in his three starts, Boston scoring 34 times.

All three of Sale’s starts took place at Fenway, and he’ll be making his 2021 road debut on a mound he’s had solid success at before. In 10 starts and a relief appearance at The Trop, Sale is 5-3 with a 2.00 ERA (71.2 IP). Nelson Cruz has done pretty well against Sale batting .310 (9-29) with a pair of homers.

Road to AL Pennant Goes Through Tampa

Tampa Bay just wrapped up a 21-6 month of August that pushed the Rays’ lead for the best record in the American League to 6-games ahead of Houston. They also have caught the San Francisco Giants for the best MLB record, and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs that goes with that distinction.

After beginning 2021 with 18 consecutive relief appearances, Rasmussen is set to make his fourth consecutive start. He was something of a good luck charm for Tampa Bay in both roles during his five August appearances, the Rays winning all five games with Rasmussen earning the dubya in one of his two relief outings. He worked an efficient five innings last week in Philadelphia, Rasmussen doing so on 56 pitches in the Rays’ 3-1 triumph as -115 favorites at the top sportsbooks.

Rasmussen started at Fenway nearly three weeks ago and pitched well, though he didn’t last long enough to factor in the decision as Tampa Bay coasted to an 8-1 win. He also made a couple of relief appearances against the Red Sox this year, and has pitched to a 2.70 ERA in the combined three outings.

Umpire Trends, Final Thoughts and a Free Pick

While crew chief Mark Wegner is away this week, Adam Beck has been filling in and will call balls and strikes in Wednesday’s game. Still a few days away from his 33rd birthday, Beck entered 2021 with only four career plate assignments and has made 20 more this year while building a 9-10-1 O/U/P record. The Florida native has been a boon for bettors playing visiting teams, home sides 6-14 when Beck has the dish and 2-8 when the underdogs.

The Rays are getting the job done in every phase of the game right now, and the Red Sox are, well, not getting it done at all as evidenced by some sloppy play in the field on Tuesday. Boston is running on fumes and running a bit scared by the recent virus issues, and even with Sale on the hill tonight, the only free MLB pick that’s warranted is to back Tampa Bay.

MLB Pick: Rays +108 at Heritage Sports (visit our Heritage Sports Review)

Rays( +108)

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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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