The Red Sox (71-66, 35-33 away) travel to take on the Rays (83-54, 45-23 home) in game one of this AL East matchup. Brayan Bello is getting the start for the Red Sox while Aaron Civale is starting for the Rays. See who I like to pick up the win in today’s Boston Red Sox vs. Tampa Bay Rays showdown at Tropicana Field.

BOSTON RED SOX VS TAMPA BAY RAYS BETTING PICK

The Pick: Tampa Bay Rays -140

This game will be played at Tropicana Field at 4:10 ET on Monday, September 4th.

WHY BET THE TAMPA BAY RAYS:

  • The Rays are 7-3 straight-up in their ten most recent games as the favorite.
  • Tampa Bay is on a three game winning streak when the underdog.
  • The Rays are 3-0 in Aaron Civale’s last three starts.

BOSTON RED SOX ON A RUNLINE WIN STREAK

Entering game 138 of their season, the Red Sox are 14.5 games out in the AL East and are in 4th place. So far, their overall series record stands at 22-17-4. Boston’s road winning percent is currently 51.5% (35-33) compared to 52.2% at home (36-33).

The Red Sox will turn to starter Brayan Bello, who has an overall record of 10-8. Across 23 outings, his ERA is 3.57 and K/9 stands at 7.28. His FIP is 4.47 and OBP is .308 thus far in the 2023 season.

The Red Sox were unable to come away with a win in Brayan Bello’s last start, losing to the Astros 6-2. The right-hander went 4 2/3 innings, surrendering two earned runs on four hits.

During their last five games, Boston is the 20th ranked offense in terms of batting average. In these games, they have hit a combined .225 and are averaging 4.8 runs per game. Across the entire season, the Red Sox are hitting .264 with an OBP of .330 while averaging 5 runs per contest. This figure puts them 7th in the league.

Triston Casas has been a bright spot for the Red Sox over the past five games, leading the team in hits with a .438 batting average. He’s been a consistent contributor all season long, currently boasting a .265 average and 55 RBIs.

WILL THE TAMPA BAY RAYS TAKE CARE OF BUSINESS AT HOME?

The Rays enter today’s game with an overall record of 83-54 which includes going 38-32 against teams with above .500 records. As of today, they are 2nd in the AL East. Across their 43 series, Tampa Bay is 25-12-6 and have records of 38-31 and 45-23 on the road and at home, respectively.

Aaron Civale is making his 19th appearance of the 2023 season with a record of 7-3 and an ERA of 2.64. His batting average allowed is .229, and on the road he has a 4-2 record with a 2.32 ERA, while at home he is 3-1 on an ERA of 3.54. Teams have a slugging percentage of .336 against him for the season thus far.

Aaron Civale earned a victory in his most recent start, as the Rays defeated the Marlins 11-2. The right-hander allowed two runs on seven hits over six innings of work.

Having gone deep 7 times in their last five games, the Rays are 4th in that span. At 5.3 runs per game, Tampa Bay is 4th in the league. This figure has come on a team batting average of .260 while hitting a total of 198 home runs (3rd).

Randy Arozarena has been one of the Tampa Bay Rays’ most productive offensive players in 2023. The outfielder is batting .261 with 78 runs batted in and 21 home runs so far this season.