MLB Betting Picks July 22 – Boston Red Sox at Tampa Bay Rays
If the Boston Red Sox are going to make a move in the AL East it’s going to happen over the next two weeks. The Sox open a stretch of 14 straight games against the teams directly ahead of them in the division standings on Monday when they visit the Tampa Bay Rays in the first of a three-game set.
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The BoSox dropped two of three to the last-place Orioles over the weekend to fall 11 games behind New York and two games back of the Rays. Eduardo Rodriguez is 2-0 since the All-Star break and squares off against Jalen Beeks live on ESPN. Betting options for every game on the Monday MLB schedule are available at BookMaker.eu.
Boston Red Sox at Tampa Bay Rays
Date and Time: Monday, July 22, 2019, 7:10 p.m. ET
Location: Tropicana Field, Tampa, FL
Probable Pitchers: Eduardo Rodriguez vs. Jalen Beeks
Opening MLB Odds: Check Back Later
Red Sox at Rays TV Coverage: ESPN
Odds Analysis
The Sox are running out of time in what has become a lost season. They have one of the most potent offenses in the Majors to try and get them over the hump and make a push for the postseason. But even that abandoned them on Sunday when the best offensive club managed just one hit and was blanked for the first time in 81 games. The Sox failed to take advantage of a series against the lowly O’s dropping two of three and open a difficult stretch of 14 consecutive games against the Rays and Yankees.
With their edge over the Sox dwindling, the Rays halted a five-game slide with a 4-2 win over the White Sox on Sunday. Home field has not been an advantage in the season series. The Rays won five of the last six meetings with all of them taking place in Fenway Park. The teams return to the Sunshine State for the first time since April when the Sox pulled off the three-game sweep at the Trop.
Probable Pitchers
Undefeated since the break, Eduardo Rodriguez ( 11-4, 4.34 ERA ) will attempt to get the rigorous stretch off on a positive note. The lefty has allowed just three earned runs over 13.1 innings in two starts since the All-Star game and he’s won his last three starts overall in what’s been his most consistent stretch of the season. He’s coming off a win over Toronto where he scattered three hits over 6.0 frames. The line would have been better if not for a pair of solo homers given up.
Rodriguez’s work against the Rays has been spotty this year. In two previous starts against them he’s 0-1, yielding seven earned runs and three homers among 14 hits over 11 innings. His numbers at the Trop aren’t very good either. He’s 0-2 with a 7.11 ERA in four starts.
If he needed more inspiration, Jalen Beeks ( 5-0, 2.78 ERA ) will face his former club when he makes his first start of the season. Acquired in the Nathan Eovaldi trade last year, Beeks had been the long man out of the pen, and he was solid in his role surrendering two runs or less in each of his last eight appearances. All of those were multiple inning stints. He hasn’t pitched more than 4.2 innings, so don’t expect a long outing.
It’s been nearly a week since Beeks last took the hill, going 3.1 innings against New York and being denied a victory when pen coughed up a late lead. He’ll be facing the Sox for the first time this year. However, he was 2-0 in two appearances against them last year after the trade, giving up three runs and eight hits in 9.1 innings.
Key Stat
What happened to the Sox on Sunday is the exception and not the norm. Held to just one hit by a journeyman starter and two relievers, Boston was blanked for the first time in 81 games and saw its streak of 11 games with homer come to an end. It happens over the course of the season and now that the Sox have a chance to pick up some ground in a number of upcoming head-to-head battles look for the bats to have a little more life. During their first visit to the Trop, the Sox scored 16 runs total in their sweep. Boston’s .272 team average tops MLB and there are second with 5.66 runs per game.
Bet Red Sox at Rays at BookMaker.eu
Until one team proves it can win in its own yard I’m sticking with the visitors. The Sox blew a chance to pick up important wins in Baltimore and the realization that their playoff hopes are hanging in the balance will spark the defending champs. Rodriguez hasn’t had a lot of success against the Rays this year, but I like him to be better than his counterpart and the rest of the Tampa’s pen, which is going to get a workout on Monday. This one screams Sox and the over, so I’m going with it.
MLB Score Prediction: Red Sox 6, Rays 4
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