Monday night baseball and we will see the Boston Red Sox take on the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field in Tampa. First pitch is scheduled for a 7:10 PM (Eastern) start time and the game will be televised on ESPN. Current Betting Odds, according to Sportsbook.ag, have Tampa Bay listed as the favorite.
Current Odds
Boston +117
Tampa Bay -127
Over/ Under: 7.5 U -115
Analysis: The Red Sox (39-25) have won six of eight after taking two of three at home against the Angels over the weekend. They got two home runs from Jarrod Saltalamacchia and David Ortiz's 13th homer in a 10-5 victory Sunday. Ortiz, who has homered in three of his last four, has batted .353 with 14 RBIs in his last 15 contests against the Rays. 2B Dustin Pedroia and 3B Jose Iglesias have each hit safely in 13 straight games. John Lackey is healthy again, and that's meant trouble for opponents. Lackey (3-5, 2.79 ERA) went 1-4 with a 4.05 ERA in his first five starts but has posted a 1.44 ERA in the past four. He limited the Rangers to one run over six innings of a 3-2 loss Wednesday. The right-hander appears to be rediscovering his dominant form from before Tommy John surgery, which caused him to miss all of last season. Lackey also spent three weeks on the disabled list in April with a right biceps strain. However, he's gone 3-6 with a 7.55 ERA in his last nine starts against Tampa Bay, dating to 2009. Boston has won five of six meetings with the Rays this year, with Lackey suffering the lone defeat after giving up five runs in 4 1-3 innings of a 5-3 road loss May 14.
The Rays will be looking to make up some of that ground when they host the Red Sox in the opener of a three-game series tonight. Tampa Bay ended May with a flourish but has not been able to string together more than two consecutive wins in June. The Rays (34-28) had won 10 of 13 before Matt Moore allowed a career-high nine runs and 12 hits in five innings of a 10-7 loss to Baltimore on Sunday The Rays will be looking to make up some of that ground when they host the Red Sox in the opener of a three-game series on Monday. Tampa Bay ended May with a flourish but has not been able to string together more than two consecutive wins in June. Looking to help Tampa Bay rebound will be Alex Cobb (6-2, 2.39 ERA), who's gone 0-1 with a 2.77 ERA in two starts against the Red Sox this season. Like Lackey, Cobb has also been outstanding in his past four starts, going 2-0 with a 1.26 ERA. He gave up five hits in 7 2-3 innings of a 3-0 win at Detroit on Thursday after missing his previous start due to a cut finger on his throwing hand.
Pick: Let's hope the pitching here can cool off these offenses. I think they can. John Lackey has been pitching out of his mind lately as he has a 1.44 ERA in his last 4 starts and a less than 1.00 WHIP over that stretch as well. He does have a 4.56 ERA on the road, but still his road starts have averaged just 6.4 rpg and not one of those starts have put up more than 8 runs. He has allowed 5 ER's in 3 of his last 4 starts in this park, but he is just totally locked in right now to think he will struggle in this one. Alex Cobb has been solid for the Rays this year, especially at home, where he has a 1.91 ERA and an 0.92 WHIP in 6 starts this year. Alex has allowed more than 3 ER's just once this year and he has a 1.25 ERA in his last 4 starts. The offenses are hot right now, but these two starters have the stuff to cool them down and I expect that to happen. 5 or 6 runs at most here.
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