The Boston Red Sox (67-68) take one of the best offenses in the American League on the road to face the Tampa Bay Rays (74-58) at Tropicana Field on Monday to open a three-game series. The Red Sox are playing their first of six games on the road. They are coming off a four-game sweep of the Rangers, taking the finale 5-2 on Sunday at Fenway Park for their fifth straight win. Trevor Story was 3 for 4 with a home run and a double. He drove in three runs. Xander Bogaerts also went 3 for 4 with a double, one run, and two RBIs. The Rays are in the midst of a six-game homestand. They won two of three against the Yankees in their last series, dropping the finale 2-1 on Sunday at Tropicana Field. David Peralta went 2 for 4 with two doubles and one run. Francisco Mejia added one RBI on one hit.
HEAD-TO-HEAD
The Rays have won nine of 13 in the season series between the AL East rivals, including a 12-4 victory in their most recent meeting on August 28 at Fenway Park. Corey Kluber went six innings to get the win, allowing three runs on eight hits.
ON THE MOUND
Michael Wacha (10-1, 2.53 ERA) is set to start for Boston. The right-hander allowed two runs over six innings in his last start, a 6-5 road win over the Twins on Wednesday. He earned the win, yielding four hits while striking out seven and walking one. Over two previous starts against the Rays this season, Wacha has allowed six earned runs over 11 innings (2-0, 4.91). He has struck out nine and walked three.
AT THE PLATE
The Boston offense is averaging 4.6 runs per game for the season, third best in the American League, with a slash line of .259/.319/.412. Rafael Devers leads the team in OPS at .889. The third baseman is slashing .293/.350/.539 with 25 home runs, 72 RBIs, and 74 runs over 117 games. Over the last five games, however, Boston has averaged 6.8 runs a game while performing better across the board (.324/.401/.503). Tampa Bay is slashing .242/.311/.384 for the season and averaging 4.3 runs per game. Yandy Diaz leads the team with a .817 OPS. The third baseman has eight home runs, 51 RBIs, and 63 runs scored with a slash line of .288/.396/.421. The Rays have a .693 OPS against right-handers in 2022. With a .811 OPS over 305 at-bats, Peralta has been their best hitter against right-handers.
HOME AND AWAY
Boston is 32-34 in away games in 2022, scoring 4.5 runs per game while allowing 4.6 runs. Tampa Bay has gone 44-24 at Tropicana Field this season, averaging 4.2 runs per game while surrendering 3.4. Tampa Bay is 7-3 in the last 10 meetings at Tropicana Field with an average scoreline of 4.4-3.8.
STANDINGS UPDATE
The Red Sox are fifth in the AL East, 13 games behind the division-leading Yankees. The Rays are second in the AL East, four games behind the Yankees. They currently occupy one of the Wild Card spots, sitting first.
SportsTips’ MLB Pick:
Boston Red Sox
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*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.
