MLB Sunday will see an American League East battle as the Tampa Bay Rays travel to take on the Boston Red Sox. The game is scheduled for a 1:40 p.m. start time and it will be televised nationally on TBS. Currently the odds have the Rays favored at -119 (Risk $119 to win $100) with the game total at 10 runs.
Free Analyis: The Rays will start phenom Matt Moore, the big lefty, on the hill today. He threw well against the Tigers last week on the road and is looked upon as the best overall prospect in all of Major League Baseball. Tampa Bay is trying to avoid its first four-game losing streak since starting the 2011 season 0-6. Today is Jackie Robinson Day across MLB and all players will be wearing No. 42 in honor of Robinson. Jacoby Ellsbury ended up on the disabled list last night after dislocating his shoulder, which is not a good thing for the Red Sox this early in the season. He's probably going to miss some significant time. The Rays last season went 12-6 against the Red Sox overall and had a starting pitcher ERA of 2.88 against Boston. However, that pitching staff hasn't done anything productive in the first two games of this season as the Red Sox have collected 25 runs and 31 hits in two lopsided victories this year. The Sox hit five homers, including David Ortiz's first of the year. Ortiz finished 4-for-5 day with five RBIs on the day. Cody Ross, playing center field in place of Ellsbury, had four RBIs. It's as if they didn't miss a beat. However, they have started the season on the skids a bit, going just 3-5 overall. Rays relievers have a 12.39 ERA this season, so it will be imperative for Moore to go deep in the game, and he has the ability to do so. Today, the Red Sox will counter with a youngster of their own in Felix Doubront. He struck out six hitters at Toronto on Monday, allowing a couple of runs in what ended up being Boston's first win of the season. Doubront lost his only career start against the Rays, walking four in his second big league appearance July 6, 2010.
Free Pick: It's easy to see how the Rays are favored in this game, having lost the first two games of the series and getting beat up pretty good. They are too good of a team to get swept, but that's just what's going to happen today. Moore is a legit prospect and he's going to be one of the better pitchers in the league at some point soon. However, the Red Sox are just hitting the baseball too well right now to lose this game. I know Doubront isn't exactly a superstar either, but if he can keep Rays hitters off balanced today, I think Boston wins at home.
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Betting Strategies - MLB American League League ProjectionsHost Scott Spreitzer and Pregame Pro Bryan Leonard discuss American League team previews and Futures best bet from both Scott and Bryan.