Red Sox vs. Rays Thursday MLB probable pitchers, odds: Tampa Bay can tie league record with 13th straight win to open season in matinee

What more do the Tampa Bay Rays have to accomplish to at least become temporary favorites at Caesars Sportsbook to win the 2023 World Series? The Rays are not favorites yet, but enter Thursday's series finale against Boston looking to become the third team in MLB history to start a season at 13-0, and they will have to beat former Rays right-hander Corey Kluber to do it. Tampa Bay is a -210 favorite.

The 1982 Atlanta Braves and 1987 Milwaukee Brewers are the only teams to start 13-0. Neither reached the World Series, and the Brewers would eventually also suffer a 12-game losing streak and miss the playoffs entirely. The Rays are currently +600 third favorites to win their first Fall Classic behind the Houston Astros (+300) and New York Yankees (+350).

The Astros are below .500 and the Yankees already four games behind Tampa Bay in the division, but MLB futures odds don't change a lot week-to-week because of the sheer length of the season. The Rays have tied the longest overall winning streak in franchise history, matching the Devil Rays' 12-game run from June 9-22, 2004.

"When we're doing something that is a franchise record, it's pretty meaningful, impactful," manager Kevin Cash said. "So the guys should be really proud of that."

Tampa Bay's pitching has been great, but that group allowed seven runs Wednesday against Boston. The offense picked up the slack and scored nine runs, and hit its league-leading 30th homer of the season. That represents the third-most homers through 12 games in MLB history behind the 2019 Mariners (32) and '00 Cardinals (31). By comparison, the Rays have allowed 27 combined runs. They have only trailed at the end of five of 108 innings played and their plus-65 run differential is the third-best in MLB history through the first 12 games of a campaign.

The Rays turn to lefty Jeffrey Springs on Thursday. He has been stellar with a 2-0 record, 0.54 WHIP and no runs allowed in 13 innings. He was a reliever with the 2020 Red Sox and was 0-2 with a 7.08 ERA. The Rays can transform bad pitchers into good ones better than any other franchise.

Springs won't have to deal with AL Rookie of the Year candidate Masataka Yoshida, as the Japanese outfielder was scratched from Wednesday's game due to right hamstring soreness, and Red Sox manager Alex Cora said he would hold out Yoshida until Friday's series opener vs. the Angels. Also out today is All-Star third baseman Rafael Devers, so this moneyline is likely to only rise. 

Kluber is a two-time Cy Young Award winner, but at age 37 isn't nearly that effective any longer. He's 0-2 with a 6.48 ERA in his first two starts with Boston. Kluber spent last year with the Rays, going 10-10 with a 4.34 ERA in 31 starts. Not many Rays batters have seen him in a regular-season game and none have homered against him. 

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