On Thursday, June 24, the Tampa Bay Rays host the Boston Red Sox at 7:10 p.m. ET at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays won 8-2 when these teams met yesterday, so this game will decide who takes the series.
Will Tampa Bay earn back-to-back wins after a seven-game losing streak? Find out in our Red Sox vs. Rays picks and predictions.
Red Sox vs Rays game info
• Location: Tropicana Field, Tampa, FL
• Date: Thursday, June 24, 2021
• Time: 7:10 p.m. ET
• TV: BSN, NESN
Red Sox vs Rays odds
Odds via the Covers Line, an average comprised of odds from multiple sportsbooks.
Compare MLB odds before betting to ensure you get the best number.
MLB sharp money and line movement report
By Patrick EversonTampa Bay went up as a -130 favorite Wednesday night at PointsBet USA and is down to -115 as of 4:45 p.m. ET today on two-way action. The Red Sox are taking 51 percent of bets, while the Rays are drawing 61 percent of money. The total is fairly stable at 9, with 76 percent of bets/71 percent of cash on the Over.
Check out the full line movement for this gameRed Sox vs Rays betting preview
Starting pitchers
Nick Pivetta (6-3, 4.36 ERA): The Red Sox have lost in three of Pivetta’s last four trips to the mound, but that’s not entirely his fault. The 28-year-old did give up six earned runs in a 7-2 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays on June 12, but he also gave up just five earned runs over 11.0 total innings in two of the other losses. That’s almost two quality starts, which the Sox would love in this game.
Michael Wacha (1-2, 5.19 ERA): Wacha gave up five earned runs on 11 hits in 3.2 innings in his last trip to the mound. It’s now been three years since we last saw Wacha as a truly solid part of an MLB rotation, but the Rays are hoping they can squeeze something out of him this year. It hasn’t been a great start thus far, but perhaps he’ll turn it around.
Weather
Be sure to monitor the gametime conditions with our MLB weather info.
Key injuries
Red Sox: RP Ryan Brasier (out)
Rays: RP Nick Anderson (out)
Find our latest MLB injury reports.
Betting trend to know
The Rays are 8-3 in their last 11 homes games with a total between 9.0 and 10.5. Find more MLB betting trends for Red Sox vs. Rays.
Moneyline pick
With the way that Wacha pitched in his last appearance for Tampa Bay, it’s surprising to see the Rays favored in a game like this. Pivetta isn’t exactly an ace for the Red Sox, but he has been somewhat reliable over the last few weeks. And Tampa has also lost seven of its last eight games, so Boston actually looks like something of a trap as an underdog. With that, it’s wise to go against the masses and roll with the Rays in this one.
Wacha isn’t the same pitcher that he once was for the Cardinals, but he has had some success against these Red Sox hitters. In 49 at bats against the righty, Boston’s lineup has combined to hit only one homer. The guys have gotten on base against him at a pretty decent rate, but they haven’t come through with the big hits when they need to. After giving up 11 hits in his last outing, Wacha will need to find a way to similarly strand some Red Sox in this game. One would think that he’ll get a bit better as he continues to get more and more work with a longer leash.
The Rays also have a number of players that should be eager to face Pivetta here. The righty is prone to making a mistake or two a game, and these Rays hit righties pretty well. Austin Meadows is a guy to keep an eye on here, as he does most of his best work against right-handed pitching. The same goes for Brandon Lowe.
PREDICTION: Rays ML (-130)
Over/Under pick
Much like the side in this game, the Over seems way too easy with these two starters on the mound. Pivetta rarely goes out to the mound and completely shuts down his opponent, and he’s not likely to do that against a Rays team that hits righties well. However, he can easily turn in a quality start in this one, and that would put this Under in play.
The same goes for Wacha, who is coming off a disastrous appearance on the bump. Wacha gave up five runs on 11 hits in his last trip out, so it’d be easy to doubt his abilities coming into this game. However, he did allow just four earned runs in five innings against the Red Sox at Fenway earlier in the year, and he should be a bit better at home in this one.
PREDICTION: Under 9.0 (-108)
Red Sox vs Rays betting card
- Rays ML (-130)
- Under 9.0 (-108)
Picks made on 6/24/2021 at 2:50 a.m. ET
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