The clock is ticking for The Tampa Bay Rays as they try to catch the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox in the American League East. <\/p>\n
MLB Betting \u2013 Rays vs Red Sox Preview & Pick<\/strong> Tampa Bay Rays (64-55 through August 15)<\/strong> Last week\u2019s five-game winning streak helped but Tampa still has a long way to go. At least the Rays\u2019 three-game set with Boston this week gives them a golden opportunity.<\/p>\n The Rays\u2019 pitching has been mostly hot of late, as they allowed one or fewer runs in four of their five victories last week. It was nice to see David Price get back on track and beat the Yankees with eight innings of one-run ball last week. The Rays\u2019 ace has had a strange season. He\u2019s curbed his walk rate significantly and lowered his WHIP but his ERA has jumped a full run, largely because he\u2019s giving up more homers than normal.<\/p>\n If Price wants run support, maybe he should look to rookie Desmond Jennings. Hyped as the reason Tampa Bay could let Carl Crawford go, Jennings has been outstanding since getting called up, batting .338 with four homers, 13 RBI, eight steals and a 1.049 OPS in 21 games.<\/p>\n Boston Red Sox<\/strong> The Red Sox are still a great bet for a playoff berth, whether it\u2019s the AL East crown or the Wild Card, but they must be happy to be back at home. They finished a six-game road trip over the weekend by losing three of four. [dfads params=’groups=10&limit=1&return_javascript=0′]<\/p>\n The Red Sox continue to mash the baseball; Adrian Gonzalez, Jacoby Ellsbury, Dustin Pedroia and David Ortiz are all having MVP-caliber seasons and they also have \u201cunderachievers\u201d like Kevin Youkilis and Carl Crawford. But their pitching has been uneven.<\/p>\n Will John Lackey ever be an effective big-league starter again? Great run support gives him 11 wins but the putrid ERA shows that he\u2019s been lucky. He\u2019s been slightly better since the All-Star break, posting a 4.62 ERA, and that\u2019s been enough for him to go 5-0 over that stretch.<\/p>\n TB are 6-2 in their last 8 overall. Boston\u2019s bats tend to rally when Lackey pitches. It\u2019s almost like a hockey team playing great defense in front of a bad goalie. But they may be due to take one on the chin against Price. <\/p>\n Though he hasn\u2019t been himself this season, he\u2019s pitched well against tough, powerful teams, allowing two or fewer runs in recent starts against Milwaukee, Cincinnati and the Yankees. <\/p>\n He also beat Boston the last time he faced them. Since most of Boston\u2019s most dangerous bats hit from the left side of the plate, the lefty Price can keep them in check.<\/p>\n
\nDate: <\/strong>Wednesday, August 17, 2011
\nVenue: <\/strong>Fenway Park, Boston, MA
\nBroadcast: <\/strong>SUN, NESN
\nTampa Bay Rays at Boston Red Sox Betting Lines from Bodog.com<\/strong>
\nMoney Line: Red Sox -106<\/strong>
\nOver\/Under: 9<\/strong>
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\nDavid Price (10-10, 3.76)<\/p>\n
\nJohn Lackey (11-8, 6.13)<\/p>\nMLB Trends<\/h3>\n
\nTB are 11-4 in Prices last 15 starts on grass.
\nTB are 12-5 in Prices last 17 road starts.
\nUnder is 7-1 in BOS last 8 Wed. games.
\nBOS are 16-6 in their last 22 home games.
\nBOS are 57-27 in their last 84 overall.
\nUnder is 7-2 in the last 9 meetings.
\nOver is 7-3 in the last 10 meetings in Boston.<\/p>\nMLB Free pick: <\/h3>\n