Tampa Bay Rays Look To Make It 12-0 In Historic MLB Start

Forbes

12 April 2023

Tampa Bay Rays Look To Make It 12-0 In Historic MLB Start

Who: Boston Red Sox at Tampa Bay Rays
When: Wednesday, April 12
Time: 6:40 p.m. ET
Where: Tropicana Field (St. Petersburg, FL)

Betting Odds Summary

Spread: Rays -1.5 (+158), Red Sox +1.5 (-192)
Moneyline: Rays -130, Red Sox +110
Total: Over/Under 8.5 (-110-110)

The Tampa Bay Rays kept adding to their historic baseball start with a four-home run performance against the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday. Their four home runs brought their total this year to 29, matching the major league record through 11 games set in 2000 by the St. Louis Cardinals. The Rays have started the season with 11 wins and no losses following a strong performance from ace Shane McClanahan.

Say what you want about Tampa Bay’s schedule so far, but winning 11 straight is impressive regardless. The Rays’ win streak is one game short of their franchise record (set in 2004), and they are one of only four teams since 1901 to win their first 11 games of the season.

The Rays will send out rookie pitcher Taj Bradley against the Red Sox in his MLB debut on Wednesday as they try to make history and cash another win for baseball bettors.

The 22-year-old right-hander is the No. 18 overall prospect in the sport, according to MLB Pipeline. He has moved quickly up the ranks of Tampa Bay’s system. His repertoire of pitches is why he is getting the nod Wednesday. His fastball tops out at 97-98 mph, but his cutter and split changeup are his secret weapons, with opponents hitting under .200 on those pitches.

Boston will be countering with left-hander Chris Sale. Sale is off to a horrendous start, despite being 1-0 in the win-loss category. The veteran southpaw has given up 10 earned runs in just eight innings of work in two games against mediocre offenses in the Baltimore Orioles and Detroit Tigers. He did have at least six strikeouts in both those starts, but with an ERA of 11.25 and a WHIP of 2.00, there’s not much to be excited about in his performance thus far.

Not surprisingly, the Rays are favored at home today. With the way Sale is throwing and several key bats missing from the Red Sox lineup, you could back Tampa Bay to cover the 1.5-run spread at home and extend its winning streak to 12 games.

The over/under total is 8.5 runs. Sale has been getting knocked around, and who knows what to expect from the inexperienced Bradley. Expect runs in this game.

Player Prop Bets: Red Sox vs. Rays

The best player prop for this game is Wander Franco to record 2+ hits (+165).

At 22, Franco has already shown he’s an excellent MLB player. Franco was so good in such a short spurt that the Rays gave him the largest contract in franchise history at 11 years and $182 million after just half a season.

Franco is a switch-hitter, so he will bat from the right side with Sale on the mound. He already has four home runs, four doubles, 10 RBIs, a .311 batting average and a 1.021 OPS so far.

On top of his torrid start, Franco is 5-for-7 lifetime against Sale with a triple and a home run. Surprisingly, Franco has just one multi-hit game this season so far, but this is a perfect matchup for him to exploit and get his second one.

Our Same-Game Parlay

Same-game parlays are wagers that incorporate multiple legs within the same sporting event.

There are many choices to put in a same-game parlay for Red Sox vs. Rays on Wednesday, but here is a look at four playable selections:

Wander Franco to record 2+ hits (+165)
Franco to record an RBI (+150)
Isaac Parades to record a hit (-195)
Randy Arozarena to record an RBI (+130)
Rafael Devers to record a hit (-270)

This parlay has +1584 odds, meaning a $100 bet would return $1,584 in profit along with your original stake. It’s a long-shot wager.

The Rays are the cream of the crop to start this MLB season, which is why they are heavily showcased in this SGP. We have already touched on Franco’s hitting capabilities, and with 10 RBIs to his name so far, he ranks second on the team in RBIs. Franco reads Sale well and has been batting cleanup, so expect him to have a big game and drive in at least one.

A couple of other young Tampa Bay players in Isaac Parades and Randy Arozarena have continued to play well since their stint with Mexico in the World Baseball Classic. Parades had six RBIs during the tournament. Arozarena had nine. They both have seen Sale before and have at least one hit against him. Parades is tied with Franco with 10 RBIs, while Arozarena leads the team with 11.

Lastly, Rafael Devers remains a bright spot on a Red Sox team in flux. Devers already has seven extra-base hits, so expect him to bounce back on Wednesday after going hitless in the first two games of the series. A playable bet is taking him to record a hit, which shouldn’t be a problem against a young right-handed pitcher.