Boston Red Sox at Tampa Bay Rays 3/29/2018 Free MLB Picks and Predictions

Thursday, March 29, 2018

Tropicana Field

Get todays MLB odds and lines on this game.

Probable Pitchers: Chris Sale vs. Chris Archer

The Boston Red Sox head to Tropicana Field on Thursday, March 29, 2018 to take on the Tampa Bay Rays. The expected starting pitchers are Chris Sale for the Red Sox and Chris Archer for the Rays.

The odds for this matchup have Boston at -160 and Tampa Bay at +150. The Red Sox had a 74-86-6 over/under mark and a 88-78-0 run line record last year. The Rays were 77-85-0 against the run line and had a 78-81-3 over/under record.

Valuable Boston Red Sox Betting Trends

The Boston Red Sox were 74-86-6 against the over/under last year

The Boston Red Sox were 88-78-0 against the run line last season

Important Tampa Bay Rays Betting Trends

The Tampa Bay Rays were 78-81-3 against the over/under last year

The Tampa Bay Rays were 77-85-0 against the run line last season

Key Boston Red Sox Injuries

03/26/18 P Eduardo Rodriguez Knee 10-day DL (03/26)
03/26/18 P Drew Pomeranz Elbow 10-day DL (03/26)
03/26/18 2B Dustin Pedroia Knee is out indefinitely
03/26/18 SS Marco Hernandez Shoulder is out indefinitely
03/26/18 P Steven Wright Knee 10-day DL (03/26)
03/26/18 P Tyler Thornburg Shoulder is out indefinitely

Key Tampa Bay Rays Injuries

03/26/18 P Jose De Leon Elbow 60-day DL (03/26)

Useful Pitching Statistics

The Red Sox had a 93-69 overall record last season. Starting pitcher Chris Sale had a 17-8 record with an earned run average of 2.90 and a WHIP of 0.97. He had 308 strikeouts over his 214.1 innings pitched and he gave up 165 hits. He allowed 6.9 hits per 9 innings and he had a FIP of 2.45. The bullpen had an earned run average of 3.15 and they gave up 442 base hits on the year. Teams hit .223 against the bullpen and they struck out 579 hitters while walking 179 batters. As a team, Boston allowed 8.4 hits per nine innings while striking out 9.6 batters per nine innings. They were 4th in the league in team earned run average at 3.7. The Red Sox pitchers collectively gave up 1,384 base hits and 610 earned runs last year. They allowed 195 home runs last season, ranking them 15th in the league. Boston as a pitching staff walked 465 batters and struck out 1,580. They walked 2.8 men per 9 innings while striking out 9.6 per 9. They had a team WHIP of 1.25 and their FIP as a unit was 3.78.

Hitting Statistics

As a team Boston hit .258, good for 12th in the league. The Red Sox held a .407 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .329, which was good for 11th in baseball. They ranked 8th in MLB with 9.0 hits per game. J.D. Martinez hit .303 with an on-base percentage of .376 last year. He had 131 hits last season in 432 at bats with 104 runs batted in. He had a slugging percentage of .690 and an OPS+ of 166. Mookie Betts hit .264 last year and he had an on-base percentage of .344. He totaled 166 hits and he drove in 102 men in 628 at bats. His OPS+ was 108 while his slugging percentage was at .459. The Red Sox had 1,461 hits last season, including 302 doubles and 168 home runs. Boston walked 571 times last year and they struck out 1,224 times as a unit. They left 1,134 men on base and had a team OPS of .736. They scored 4.85 runs per contest and scored a total of 785 runs last year.

Useful Pitching Statistics

Tampa Bay had a 80-82 overall mark last year. With an earned run average of 4.07, Chris Archer had a 10-12 record and a 1.26 WHIP. He had 249 strikeouts over the 201 innings he pitched. He also gave up 193 hits. He allowed 8.6 hits per nine innings and his FIP stood at 3.4. The bullpen had an earned run average of 3.83 and they gave up 482 base hits on the year. Teams hit .232 against the Rays bullpen. Their relievers struck out 511 batters and walked 202 opposing hitters. As a team, Tampa Bay allowed 8.2 hits per nine innings while striking out 8.4 batters per nine innings. They were 8th in the league in team earned run average at 3.97. The Rays pitchers as a team surrendered 1,324 base knocks and 638 earned runs last season. They gave up 193 home runs last year, which ranked 17th in Major League Baseball. Tampa Bay as a staff walked 503 hitters and struck out 1,352 batters. They gave up a walk 3.1 times per 9 innings while they struck out 8.4 per 9. Their team WHIP was 1.26 while their FIP as a staff was 4.17.

Hitting Statistics

As a team, they batted .245, good for 25th in the league. The Rays held a .422 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .317, which was good for 22nd in baseball. They ranked 25th in MLB with 8.3 hits per contest. Wilson Ramos comes into this matchup after batting .260 with an OBP of .290 last season. He had 54 hits last year along with 35 RBI in 208 AB's. He maintained a slugging percentage of .447 with an OPS+ of 98. Denard Span hit .272 last season and he had an OBP of .329. He collected 135 hits in 497 at bats while driving in 43 runs. He had an OPS+ of 100 and a slugging percentage of .427. The Rays as a unit had 1,340 base hits last season, including 226 doubles and 228 homers. Tampa Bay walked 545 times last year and they struck out on 1,538 occasions. They left 1,114 men on base and had an OPS of .739. They scored 4.28 runs per game and totaled 694 runs last year.

Who will win tonight's Red Sox/Rays MLB game against the spread?

Tony's Pick: Take the Red Sox -160

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