Free MLB Pick: Red Sox vs. Rays Odds
Looking for Boston Red Sox vs. Tampa Bay Rays free MLB predictions? MLB betting sees the Red Sox taking on the Rays in Game 2 of the American League Divisional Series Friday, October 8th, 2021 at Tropicana Field. Cappers Picks provides complimentary expert handicapping picks on all MLB baseball matchups all season long so stay tuned for more FREE daily MLB predictions like this Red Sox Rays ALDS Game 2 free pick.
2021 ALDS: Game 2
(0-1) Boston Red Sox vs. Tampa Bay Rays (1-0)
Date: Friday, October 8th, 2021
Time: 7:02 PM ET
Venue: Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, Florida
Projected Pitchers: Sale (BOS), Baz (TB)
MLB Moneyline Odds: TBD
MLB run line Betting Odds: TBD
MLB Baseball Gambling Total: TBD
Red Sox Series Price: +125 | Rays Series Price -150 (Bet Now!)
A few days off didn’t cool off the Rays. They backed their rookie starting pitcher early and took Game 1 by a score of 5–0.
Boston Red Sox
Eduardo Rodriguez was not sharp in just his second career postseason start.
He lasted only 1.2 innings and gave up two hits, two walks, and two earned runs.
Chris Sale takes the ball in Game 2. He made nine starts in the regular season after missing two years to recover from arm surgery.
He went exactly five innings in four of those starts, into the sixth in another two, and through six only once. All told, he struck out 52 and walked 12.
He made back-to-back starts against Tampa Bay to begin September. The first was his lone six-inning performance of the season, in which he gave up six hits and two earned runs. He gave up 10 hits in the next one and lasted just 3.2 innings.
JD Martinez (ankle) did not play in Game 1 but he is on the roster and is available to pinch-hit, if not to play as the DH.
Boston out-hit Tampa Bay, 9-6, on Thursday night but could not get the big one with runners on.
Tampa Bay Rays
And while the Red Sox may have out-hit the Rays, Tampa Bay’s pitching did not surrender a single walk. By contrast, Boston walked four Rays.
Shane McClanahan was excellent in his first postseason start and first postseason win. He went five and struck out three before turning it over to the bullpen.
Remember the deal Pittsburgh made with Tampa Bay three years ago when it exchanged Tyler Glasnow and Austin Meadows for Chris Archer?
Turns out that wasn’t all the Pirates gave up. Shane Baz, their first round pick from the year earlier, was thrown into the deal as the player to be named later.
Baz held a 2.06 ERA in nearly 80 innings between Double-A Montgomery and Triple-A Durham this season before getting the call in September.
In three starts with the Rays, Baz went 2–0 with 18 strikeouts, three walks, six hits, and three earned runs allowed in 13.1 innings. Kevin Cash did not hesitate in naming him the Game 2 starter before the series even began.
Jordan Luplow started at first base for Tampa Bay with the left-handed starter on the mound for Boston. Expect the same in this one.
Joey Wendle replaced Luplow once the Red Sox got into the bullpen.
MLB Baseball Betting Trends:
- Red Sox are 4-1 in their last 5 overall.
- Rays are 9-3 in their last 12 games following an off day.
- Under is 7-0 in Red Sox last 7 games vs. a left-handed starter.
- Head to Head: Red Sox are 2-8 in the last 10 meetings in Tampa Bay.
- Head to Head: Over is 24-11-2 in the last 37 meetings.
Boston Red Sox vs. Tampa Bay Rays MLB Prediction:
Sale won’t dazzle for seven or eight innings like he may have once upon a time. He will, however, compete and keep the Red Sox in this game.
Sale gets through five with just one run in and Boston gets just enough off the rookie to take a lead into the middle innings.
That’s where it gets interesting. The Rays strike back to take a lead but the Red Sox don’t lay down. They force extra innings and win it with two runs in the 10th to even the series.
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