Tampa Bay Rays vs Boston Red Sox Prediction, Preview and Odds - 06/04/2023

Game Time: 1:35 pm ET, Sunday, June 4, 2023

Venue:  Fenway Park, Boston, MA

Where to Watch:  NESN

DraftKings:  Moneyline odds:  Rays -120, Red Sox +100; Over/Under:  9.5 runs

Bet365:  Moneyline odds:  Rays -120, Red Sox +100; Over/Under:  9.5 runs

BetMGM:  Moneyline odds:  Rays -120, Red Sox +100; Over/Under:  9.5 runs

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

Boston Red Sox:  29-27 (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 3rd game of a 4-game series with the Red Sox on Sunday with the series opener and game 2 of a double-header still to be played on Saturday. Their offense ranks 1st in the MLB with a .829 OPS. Tyler Glasnow is their starting pitcher for game 2 on Saturday while rookie pitcher Taj Bradley is making his start in this game on Sunday. He is 3-2 with a 3.60 ERA this season. His team lost their last 3 straight games this season with him making an appearance. In his last MLB regular season start, he allowed 0 ER, 0 HR, and 1 BB with 8 Ks on 3 hits through 5.2 IP against the Chicago Cubs.

The Red Sox are entering this game off of a win in their last game but lost their 3-game series against the Cincinnati Reds 2-1 in their last series. They enter this game with a 29-27 record overall and have a home record of 16-13. This is the 3rd game of a 4-game series with the Rays on Sunday with the 1st game and the 2nd game of this series still to be played on Saturday. Their offense ranks 5th in the MLB with a .769 OPS. Kutter Crawford is their starting pitcher for game 2 on Saturday while Tanner Houck is making his start in this game on Saturday. He is 3-4 with a 5.30 ERA this season. His team lost their last 4 straight games this season with him making an appearance. In his last MLB regular season start, he allowed 4 earned runs, 2 homers, and 0 BB with 4 strikeouts on 6 hits through 4 innings played against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

The current betting odds have the Rays listed as a favorite in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. Houck is up for the Red Sox here and he has been giving up a ton of runs in his starts lately while Bradley is up for the Rays and he hasn't been as bad this season, giving up a lot less runs than Houck in his starts. Both of these teams have top 5 offenses in the MLB this year but the Rays still have the best offense in the league and they also have a much better pitching staff. The Red Sox have been terrible all year with their starters and their bullpen which is going to be a big problem when facing the best offense in the league. Bradley may be a rookie but he has been pitching well in his starts and he has a great bullpen behind him to pick up the slack while the Red Sox really lack a good bullpen and will have no answers if their starter starts getting blown up here. The Rays haven’t been great against division opponents this season either but they will be looking to change that narrative here by beating up on one of the worst teams in the division. The best way to place a bet here is on the Rays to win this game, game 1 of the double-header.

Rays Red Sox Prediction:  Our MLB Pick for Sunday, June 4, 2023 (1:35 pm ET start time) is Rays 9 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. 14-6 OVER against division opponents.

Boston Red Sox: 78-93 (-17.7 units) on the moneyline against division opponents. 135-133 (-8.7 units) on the moneyline against right-handed starters. 20-8 OVER in home games. 12-2 OVER against division opponents.

Tampa Bay Rays:  L. Raley (RF) Out Sat - Abdominal. J. Fleming (SP) Out indefinitely - Elbow. W. Franco (SS) Prob Sat - Shoulder. D. Rasmussen (RP) Early Aug - Elbow. P. Fairbanks (RP) Out indefinitely - Hip. Z. Littell (RP) Mid June - Shoulder. S. Armstrong (RP) Mid 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:  C. Sale (SP) Out Indefinitely - Shoulder. A. Duvall (LF) Prob Fri - Wrist. T. Story (2B) Late July - Elbow. Y. Chang (3B) Mid June - Wrist. R. Bleier (RP) Out indefinitely - Shoulder. W. Mills (RP) Mid June - Elbow. C. Arroyo (3B) Mid 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.

“I cannot be irresponsible. We know each other. Obviously, it’s not easy with everything he has gone through, but I’ve got to take care of him.” - Alex Cora on Chris Sale after his team’s win against the Reds in their game on Thursday.

Yandy Diaz (R) 1B

Wander Franco (S) SS

Brandon Lowe (L) 2B

Randy Arozarena (R) LF

Harold Ramirez (R) DH

Josh Lowe (L) RF

Jose Siri (R) CF

Taylor Walls (S) 3B

Christian Bethancourt (R) C

Alex Verdugo (L) RF

Rafael Devers (L) 3B

Justin Turner (R) 1B

Masataka Yoshida (L) LF

Rob Refsnyder (R) CF

Triston Casas (L) DH

Enrique Hernandez (R) SS

Reese McGuire (L) C

Pablo Reyes (R) 2B

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 (48)

Stolen Bases:  Jarren Duran (7)

Wins:  Chris Sale (5)

Saves:  Kenley Jansen (11)

ERA:  Justin Garza (1.17)

Managers:

Tampa Bay Rays: Kevin Cash (9th season)

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