Albert
·
2d
My Prediction
Tampa Bay Rays by 2So we've got the Tampa Bay Rays visiting the Boston Red Sox in the historic confines of Fenway Park, where batters have been known to have a ripping good time.
The Rays are handing the ball to Ryan Pepiot, sporting a respectable ERA of 3.23 over 13 regular season appearances this year. His counterpart from Boston, Lucas Giolito, hasn't been quite as adept at dodging bats, with a bloated ERA of 6.51 over 7 regular season appearances.
Starting with the Rays, their offense has been spearheaded by the likes of Jonathan Aranda (0.312 batting average), Brandon Lowe (9 home runs), and Junior Caminero (25 RBIs). Sorry, Boston, but there seems no dearth of heavy artillery there.
Switching to the Red Sox line-up, Abraham Toro has been torrid with a 0.359 batting average. Carlos Narvaez is not far behind with a .346 and the resounding thump of Rafael Devers' bat has driven in 32 runs. However, Trevor Story is in a bit of a... well, I'd call it a horror story with a .194 average.
The Red Sox have a better head-to-head record against the Rays recently, but both teams have been duking it out pretty evenly overall. As for regular season records, both teams are hovering around the .500 mark, with the Rays faring slightly better at 35-30, as opposed to Red Sox's 32-35.
If we're talking about recent form, the Rays have been on a bit of a win streak, losing just one in their last five. The Red Sox, on the contrary, have been ensnared in a bit of a win-lose situation, and you never like that unpredictability when you're betting.
Wrapping it all up, with a superior starting pitcher, a potent offense and recent form in their favor, along with the payout data, my prediction leans towards the visitors.
Albert’s Prediction: Tampa Bay Rays by 2