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MLB Pick: Tampa Bay and Boston Sports Betting Preview

best MLB Betting pick Boston runline
Boston beat Tampa Bay 4-1 on Saturday.

Our best MLB betting pick for the day before the 2016 All-Star game involves the Tampa Bay Rays and Boston Red Sox. This season the Red Sox are a very exciting club to watch. Overall, their pitching is decent, while the Sox hitting is their primary strength. Boston is just a few games out of first place in the AL East. The Tampa Bay Rays sit 15 games out of first. They have fairly solid pitching. However, their hitting and run production is weak.

Recent Performance

best MLB betting pick  Boston
Price gets the start for Boston.

The Red Sox are 6-4 in their last 10 games. They have won two straight. The Rays have lost two in a row and are 2-8 for their last 10. Over the past few weeks, Tampa Bay has been in a pattern of winning a game and then losing three to five straight. Boston has been winning a bit more than losing, but they are quite capable of losing three straight and then doing the same in the win category.

The Game

Jake Odorizzi starts for the struggling Rays.
Jake Odorizzi starts for the struggling Rays.

Boston Red Sox pitcher David Price (4.64 ERA, 8-6) has been struggling. He’s lost his last two. His most recent start resulted in a 7-2 loss to Texas, while, after that, he lost to Tampa Bay 4-0. He’s managed to come back after a few losses, and Price would certainly like to redeem himself after his last showing against the Rays. It’s a game that he lost in the first three innings.

Jake Odorizzi (4.33 ERA, 3-4) has started 18 games, but he has a tough time getting past five innings. Although he got off to a decent start this season, he’s had a rough four weeks, going 0-4. Red Sox hitters have a perfect opportunity to make some hay against him in the early going.

Keys to the Game

Xander Bogaerts has been a hot hitter.
Xander Bogaerts has been a hot hitter.

For this best MLB pick to work out in the way we think it will, the Boston Red Sox will need to get to Odorizzi quickly. The Sox have some excellent hitters. Look for David Ortiz to get his bat on some balls, as well as Xander Bogaerts, Dustin Pedroia, and Mookie Betts.

At the same time, Boston’s Price will be looking to strikeout as many hitters as possible That’s Price’s strength as is his control. His biggest issue is giving up the long ball. That means shutting down Evan Longoria and Brad Miller. They are the Rays’ two biggest homerun threats.

Best MLB Betting Pick

Evan Longoria offers solid hitting chops.
Evan Longoria offers solid hitting chops.

Our best MLB Betting pick has the Boston Red Sox taking down the Tampa Bay Rays by three runs. We like Boston with the runline in this game. We’re expecting the Red Sox to do everything that they can to go into the All-Star break as close on Baltimore’s heels as possible. On the other hand, expect the Rays to be looking forward to getting some rest, and, quite possibly, playing a lax game on Sunday.

MLB Pick: The Boston Red Sox at -1.5.

pmroczka

Paul has been writing about sports betting and sports for more than a decade, offering picks on the NFL, MLB, NHL, and NBA, as well as on college sports and European football. He's written thousands of season and post-season previews, innumerable articles on sports betting strategies, and various books on sports and sports betting.

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