Drew Pomeranz (10-10, 2.95 ERA) and the Boston Red Sox (73-58) go up against Jake Odorizzi (9-5, 3.53 ERA) and the Tampa Bay Rays (55-75) in the second of a three-game division series at Fenway Park. The Red Sox won the last game 9-4, and Boston leads the series 1-0. The game gets underway at 7:10 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Aug. 30 and will air on NESN and SUN.
In his most recent outing, Pomeranz pitched 6.0 innings, giving up two runs, striking out 11 and walking one in a 2-1 loss to the Rays. Mookie Betts (.322, 101 Rs, 30 HRs, 96 RBIs, 21 SBs) played well again yesterday, going 2 for 5 with two runs, one home run, and two RBIs. The Rays were victorious over the Red Sox 2-1 the last time Odorizzi pitched. He went 7.0 innings, allowing one run, striking out four and walking three.
Boston is a -175 favorite in this game and the Over/Under (O/U) is nine runs. When playing as the favorite, the Red Sox have a 55-41 record and overall money line at -288. They have a 27-24 record SU and are 18-16 as favorite within their division. The Red Sox have the most prolific home offense in the entire AL, averaging 6.0 runs per game. The Red Sox are a stellar hitting team with an AL-best 9.9 hits per game. Turning to the pitching staff, the Red Sox don’t give up many hits to opposing batters, ranking fourth in the AL with only 8.4 hits allowed per game. An area where the Red Sox are particularly strong is striking batters out, where they average 8.3 K’s per game.
Switching gears, the Rays come into this game with a weak win percentage of .377 when playing as the underdog (23-38) and an overall money line of -2,637. Against divisional opponents, they are 22-29 SU and have played poorly as the underdog with a 13-19 record.
The Red Sox have mostly come out on top against the Rays in their previous 14 games this season, earning an 8-6 record. The Red Sox will take on a right-hander (Odorizzi) in this game and have a 56-44 record against right-handed starting pitchers this season. Taking the hill against the Rays will be the left-hander Pomeranz. They sport a 15-19 record against southpaws.
Predictions: SU Winner – BOS, O/U – Over
Notes
When leading after seven innings, Boston is 36-26, while Tampa Bay is 23-36.
The Rays managed to give up four walks in their last game. They’ll have to pick it up against the Red Sox who are heading in with a 41-19 record against opponents who give up that many walks or more.
When they outhit their opponents, the Rays are 37-12. The Red Sox have a 64-16 record when outhitting opponents.
Ranking first in runs, Boston has earned 711 this season. Tampa Bay ranks 22nd with 545 runs.
Ranking 19th, Tampa Bay is in the bottom half of the league in walks, notching 376 this season. Boston ranks in the top 10 at seventh with 441.
When the Red Sox hit at least one home run, they are 60-39. When the Rays hit at least one homer, they have a 47-46 record.
