Boston Red Sox vs Tampa Bay Rays Betting Pick & Prediction 9/18/24

The Red Sox and Rays are set to face off in an AL East matchup at 6:50 PM ET. This one is being played at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, and the Red Sox are the slight money line favorites, with their odds sitting at +100 compared to the Rays at -121.

Boston will be looking to end a two-game losing streak, as they are 75-76 and the underdog on the run line at +166. The Rays are 74-77 overall and starting Ryan Pepiot. Tanner Houck is starting for the Red Sox. Wednesday’s over/under line is at 7.5 runs, and the game can be seen on NESN.

BOSTON RED SOX VS TAMPA BAY RAYS BETTING PICK

The Pick: Boston Red Sox Moneyline +100

This game will be played at Tropicana Field at 6:50 ET on Wednesday, September 18th.

HOW TO BET THE RED SOX VS RAYS:

• We have the Red Sox winning by a score of 5 to 4
• However, if you’re looking for a run line pick, we like the Rays to cover
• As for an over/under pick, we have this game finishing with 9 runs and like the over

Tampa Bay cruised to an easy 8-3 win over the Red Sox in the most recent game of this series. The Rays had a huge 5th inning, scoring four of their eight runs. As for the Red Sox, they scored their only three runs in the 8th. Heading into the game, the Rays were at +111 on the money line.

Shane Baz started for the Rays and picked up the win, going seven innings and giving up just two hits and two earned runs. He finished the game with six strikeouts but issued five walks. On the other side, Nick Pivetta got the start for the Red Sox and took the loss, going just 4 2/3 innings and giving up four earned runs on five hits.

Jose Siri and Josh Lowe each homered for the Rays, while Junior Caminero scored three times and drove in a run while going 2/4. Brandon Lowe also had a two-hit game and drove in two runs.

Red Sox Records & Stats

Boston is 75-76 overall this season, and they are 3rd in the AL East, 13 games behind the Yankees for the division lead. The Red Sox have dropped two straight games, and they are 4-6 across their last 10 games. In the AL East, they are 21-23 this season.

At home, the Red Sox are 35-40 this season, and they are above .500 at 40-36 on the road. As the road favorite, the Red Sox have gone 15-6 this year, and they are 41-34 as the favorite overall. Boston’s series record is 22-19-6 this year.

When the Red Sox are the underdog, they are a solid bet on the run line, going 43-33. They have a run line record of 71-80 overall, and their average run differential is exactly zero. Their average run differential in winning games is 3.9, while it is -3.9 in losses.

When the Red Sox are on the road, the over/under line is typically set higher than 7.5 runs. In fact, 85.4% of their games have had higher lines than 7.5 runs. Their games have averaged 9.5 runs per game this season, and their over/under record is 75-68 overall. When the line is set at 7.5 runs, their over/under record is 9-11.

Tanner Houck will be looking to bounce back from a rough outing vs. the Mets, as he gets the start for the Red Sox today. In that start, he took the loss, going five innings and giving up four earned runs. Looking back over his last three outings, Houck has given up at least two homers in each. For the season, he has made 28 appearances, 19 of which were quality starts. Houck’s ERA for the season is 3.24, along with a record of 8-10. Per nine innings, he is averaging 7.96 strikeouts and 2.49 walks.

Heading into today’s game, the Red Sox are 7th in home runs and 5th in team batting average. They have been a good power-hitting team this season, with a collective isolated power figure of .176, which is 4th best in the league. Overall, they are averaging 4.7 runs per game, and their team batting average of .254 is also 5th in the MLB.

Rafael Devers has been the team’s top run producer this season, with 83 RBIs to go along with his 28 homers. Devers is also batting .276 for the season. Tyler O’Neill has gone deep 31 times this season, which is 11th best in the league, and is batting .251 overall. However, he is just 9/38 in his last 10 games. Jarren Duran is batting .285 for the season and is 2nd on the team with 72 RBIs.

Rays Records & Stats

Tampa Bay is 74-77 overall this season, and they trail the Yankees by 14 games in the AL East. Currently, they are in 4th place in the division, just a game behind the Red Sox for the 3rd spot. The Rays are 20-24 against other AL East teams this year.

The Rays have an even 38-38 record at home this year, and they are 36-39 on the road. So far, they have been the favorite in 65 games, and they are 35-30 in those games. As for their games as the underdog, the Rays are 39-47. Tampa Bay’s overall series record is 22-18-7, and they are currently up 1-0 in this series vs. the Red Sox.

At home, the Rays have a run line record of 35-41, covering the run line in 46% of their games. They have a run line record of 24-41 as the favorite and 54-32 as the underdog. Their average run margin is -0.3 runs per game at home. Their run line record on the road is 43-32, covering the run line in 57% of their games. Their average run margin is -0.5 runs per game on the road.

The Tampa Bay Rays are playing at home against the Boston Red Sox today, with the over/under line set at 7.5 runs. The combined run average for Rays games this season is 8.0 runs, and their over/under record is 66-77. When the over/under line has been set at 7.5 runs, their record is 23-27. Overall, 57.0% of their games have had over/under lines set higher than 7.5 runs, with an average line of 8 runs per game.

Ryan Pepiot gets the start for the Rays today and comes in with a record of 8-6 and ERA of 3.76. So far this year, he has made 23 starts, and opponents are batting .211. Pepiot has turned in eight quality starts and is averaging 9.31 strikeouts per nine innings. In his last outing, he finished with a no-decision, giving up two earned runs in two innings of work. Before that, he had gone 5 1/3 innings without giving up an earned run. Pepiot has given up at least one homer in four straight outings.

Yandy Diaz has been one of the few bright spots in the Rays lineup this season, as he is batting .283 and has gone 12/29 in his last eight games. He also has 14 homers this season, which is 4th in the MLB. Brandon Lowe has also been swinging a hot bat of late, going 7/27 with three homers in his last eight games.

As a team, the Rays are averaging just 3.8 runs per game, which is 28th in the league. They are also near the bottom of the league in home runs and team batting average. Overall, they are just 22nd in scoring and have a team OPS of .674.