Tampa Bay Rays vs Boston Red Sox Prediction and Betting Odds July 12
Tampa Bay Rays vs Boston Red Sox Betting Preview
WagerTalk MLB handicapper Andy Lang offers his analysis of Tuesday night’s Tampa Bay Rays vs Boston Red Sox clash at Tropicana Field. The Rays and Red Sox are separated by only 0.5 games in the AL East standings.
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| Tuesday, July 12 | MLB Betting Notes, Courtesy of Caesars |
|---|---|
| Moneyline: | Tampa Bay Rays +103 vs Boston Red Sox -113 |
| Runline: | Rays +1.5 (-160) / Red Sox -1.5 (+140) |
| Total: | 7.5 Runs (Over -105 / Under -115) |
| Game Time: | 7:10pm ET / 4:10pm PT |
| Where: | Tropicana Field in Tampa, FL |
| Weather: | Dome |
Tampa Bay Rays vs Boston Red Sox Analysis
The Boston Red Sox will be out for revenge after getting doubled up 10-5 against the Rays last night in Tampa Bay. These teams are now separated by only a half game as the two current Wild Card representatives in the American League.
Boston ace Chris Sale will make his season debut, while veteran righty Corey Kluber gets the nod for Tampa Bay. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 PM EST/4:10 PST.
Sale Day
Red Sox ace Chris Sale is set to make his season on Tuesday night in Tampa Bay. This day couldn’t come quick enough as the wounded Boston pitching staff was roughed up again in a 10-5 loss to the Rays.
Highly-touted prospect Brayan Bello was hammered for five runs on seven hits in only four innings pitched. J.D. Martinez, Xander Bogaerts and Alex Verdugo each had two hits while combining for four RBI.
The Red Sox lineup keeps improving offensively as they now rank 4th in scoring and 7th in OPS. At 47-40 Boston sits at 2nd place in the American League East with only a half game lead over the Tampa Bay Rays.
The dominant southpaw Chris Sale will be making his season debut after not pitching since last October. Last season Sale had a .158 batting average against and 28.4% strikeout rate. He pitched against the Rays twice last season and didn’t factor into the decision with sevens runs (three earned) allowed in 9.2 innings of work.
Rising Rays
The Tampa Bay Rays are nipping at the Red Sox heels in the Wild Card standings after doubling them up 10-5 last night. Matt Wisler opened the game with a clean inning and Luke Bard picked up the victory with three innings of one run baseball.
Leadoff man Yandy Diaz went 3 for 3 with two doubles three runs and three RBI. Scoring 10 runs in a single game is a rare occurrence for the Rays as they have been horrendous offensively this season.
They rank 24th in OPS and 22nd in runs scored alongside teams like the Arizona Diamondbacks and Kansas City Royals. Tampa Bay sits at 46-40, good for 2nd place in the Wild Card standings only a half game behind Boston.
The 36 year-old righty Corey Kluber will take the mound for Tampa Bay on Tuesday evening. He is 4-5 on the season with a 3.62 ERA and 1.11 WHIP. He threw six scoreless innings last time out against this same Red Sox team last week in Boston.
Tampa Bay Rays vs Boston Red Sox Prediction
The Boston Red Sox are slightly favored with a -120 money line, while the Tampa Bay Rays sit at +100 with a total of 7.5. Not a lot separates these teams as they are just a half game apart in the standings with similar numbers over their last 10 games.
However the Rays continue to be bit by the injury bug in their lineup and bullpen. The list includes Wander Franco, Brandon Lowe, Kevin Kiermaier etc etc. Meanwhile Red Sox Nation receives a jolt of energy with the return of a certified ace in Chris Sale.
Sale can only be expected to pitch three or four innings but Boston also has a tremendous edge in hitting. They have averaged closed to five runs a game over the last month, while the Rays have averaged only 3.88 runs.
This is a great bounce back spot for the Red Sox to ride the momentum of Sales return to guide them to victory.
Prediction: Boston Red Sox Moneyline -113
First Pitch | MLB Predictions for Tuesday, July 12
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WagerTalk’s Live Odds Screen features up-to-the-minute lines from a variety of offshore and domestic sports books. Track the MLB moneylines, run lines and betting percentages for all of Tuesday’s baseball games, including this Tampa Bay Rays vs Boston Red Sox showdown, from your desktop or phone.
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Meet the Author
Andy Lang has lived in Indianapolis his whole life, and like most people from the Hoosier State, he became fascinated with motor sports. That interest in motor sports turned into a desire to make money off the sport through fantasy contests and sports betting. Like most, he took his lumps when he first got started, but now he is one of the most respected NASCAR bettors in the industry. Andy has expanded that sports betting experience to become profitable in a number of other sports, transforming this interest from a side hobby to a major source of income.
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