Tampa Bay Rays vs Boston Red Sox Prediction, Preview and Odds - 06/02/2023

Game Time: 7:10 pm ET, Friday, June 2, 2023

Venue:  Fenway Park, Boston, MA

Where to Watch:  NESN

DraftKings:  Moneyline odds:  Rays -125, Red Sox +105; Over/Under:  9 runs

Bet365:  Moneyline odds:  Rays -125, Red Sox +105; Over/Under:  9 runs

BetMGM:  Moneyline odds:  Rays -125, Red Sox +105; Over/Under:  9 runs

Tampa Bay Rays:  40-18 (1st place, AL East)

Boston Red Sox:  28-27 (5th place, AL East)

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Tampa Bay Rays:  6-4 last 10

Boston Red Sox:  3-7 last 10

The Rays are entering this game off of a win in their last game but lost their 3-game series against the Chicago Cubs 2-1 in their last series. They enter this game with a 40-18 record overall and have a road record of 14-12. This is the series opener of a 4-game series with the Red Sox on Friday and they have Thursday off as a day of rest. Their offense ranks 1st in the MLB with a .829 OPS. Zach Eflin was their starting pitcher on Wednesday while Tyler Glasnow is making his start in this game on Friday. He is 0-0 with a 6.23 ERA this season. His team lost their only game this season with him making an appearance. In his last MLB regular season start, he allowed 3 ER, 1 HR, and 1 BB with 8 Ks on 5 hits through 4.1 IP against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The Red Sox are entering this game on a 3 game losing streak but won their 3-game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks 2-1 in their last series. They enter this game with a 28-27 record overall and have a home record of 15-13. This is the 1st game of a 4-game series with the Rays on Friday with the series finale of their series against the Cincinnati Reds still to be played on Thursday. Their offense ranks 5th in the MLB with a .768 OPS. Chris Sale is their starting pitcher on Thursday while Garrett Whitlock is making his start in this game on Friday. He is 2-2 with a 5.14 ERA this season. His team won 2 of their last 3 games this season with him making an appearance. In his last MLB regular season start, he allowed 1 earned run, 1 homer, and 0 BB with 4 strikeouts on 3 hits through 5 innings played against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

The current betting odds have the Rays listed as a slight favorite in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. The Rays are entering this game with the best record in the MLB at the moment and they also have the best offense in the league too. They are leading their division with a 40-18 record while the Red Sox sit at the bottom of the same division just barely staying over .500. The Red Sox have had a good offense this season as their offense is in the top 10 of the MLB, but their offense hasn't been nearly as good as the Rays offense and their pitching has also been terrible while the Rays have a great pitching staff. Glasnow is starting for the Rays and he gave up 3 runs in his last start but that was also his 1st start of the season and he will only continue to improve as he gets more work. He also has a great bullpen behind him while Whitlock hasn't been great in his few starts for the Red Sox this year and he already gave up a ton of runs against the Rays in an earlier start this season. The Rays have been a big money making team all season and they are going to continue rolling over the Red Sox who are the worst in the division at the moment. The best way to place a bet here is on the Rays to win this game.

Rays Red Sox Prediction:  Our MLB Pick for Friday, June 2, 2023 (7:10 pm ET start time) is Rays 8 Red Sox 4.

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Tampa Bay Rays: 40-18 (+17.5 units) on the moneyline in all games. 31-15 (+12 units) on the moneyline against right-handed starters. 34-21 OVER in all games. 20-7 OVER after 3 or more consecutive unders.

Boston Red Sox: 78-93 (-17.7 units) on the moneyline against division opponents. 134-133 (-9.7 units) on the moneyline against right-handed starters. 19-8 OVER in home games. 12-2 OVER against division opponents. 

Tampa Bay Rays:  W. Franco (SS) Ques Fri - Shoulder. D. Rasmussen (RP) Early Aug - Elbow. P. Fairbanks (RP) Out indefinitely - Hip. Z. Littell (RP) Mid June - Shoulder. S. Armstrong (RP) Early June - Neck. G. Cleavinger (RP) out for season - Knee. J. Springs (RP) out for season - Elbow. S. Baz (SP) out for season - Elbow. A. Kittredge (RP) Late July - Elbow.

Boston Red Sox:  A. Duvall (LF) Prob June 9 - Wrist. C. Kluber (SP) Out indefinitely - Personal. T. Story (2B) Late July - Elbow. Y. Chang (3B) Early June - Wrist. R. Bleier (RP) Out indefinitely - Shoulder. W. Mills (RP) Early June - Elbow. C. Arroyo (3B) Early June - Hamstring. J. Schreiber (RP) Out indefinitely - Back. Z. Kelly (RP) Early Sept - Elbow. A. Mondesi (SS) Out indefinitely - Knee.

“I don't want to go 3-2, but in the end, it's two outs and I got a save. That's pretty cool.” - Jalen Beeks after their win against the Cubs in their game on Wednesday.

“You give the opposition more than 27 outs, most of the time they’re going to score. They’re going to make you pay. That play we have to make, we didn’t. And it opened the gates for them.” - Alex Cora after his team’s loss against the Reds in their game on Wednesday.

Yandy Diaz (R) 1B

Randy Arozarena (R) LF

Harold Ramirez (R) DH

Isaac Paredes (R) 3B

Manuel Margot (R) RF

Brandon Lowe (L) 2B

Christian Bethancourt (R) C

Taylor Walls (S) SS

Jose Siri (R) CF

Alex Verdugo (L) RF

Rafael Devers (L) 3B

Justin Turner (R) 1B

Masataka Yoshida (L) DH

Rob Refsnyder (R) LF

Jarren Duran (L) CF

Enrique Hernandez (R) SS

Enmanuel Valdez (L) 2B

Connor Wong (R) C

Batting Average:  Yandy Diaz (.310)

Hits:  Wander Franco (65)

Home Runs:  Yandy Diaz (12)

RBI:  Randy Arozarena (40)

Stolen Bases:  Wander Franco (20)

Wins:  Shane McClanahan (8)

Saves:  Jason Adam (7)

ERA:  Chase Anderson (0.00)

Batting Average:  Adam Duvall (.455)

Hits:  Alex Verdugo (60)

Home Runs:  Rafael Devers (13)

RBI:  Rafael Devers (47)

Stolen Bases:  Jarren Duran (7)

Wins:  Chris Sale (5)

Saves:  Kenley Jansen (11)

ERA:  Chris Martin (1.23)

Managers:

Tampa Bay Rays: Kevin Cash (9th season)

Boston Red Sox: Alex Cora (5th season, 3rd consecutive)