The Boston Red Sox will be looking to extend their lead atop the American League East standings when they take on the Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday night as the -122 moneyline favorites at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
Boston takes the field for Wednesday night’s Red Sox vs. Rays betting matchup at Tropicana Field with a 9-5 record and a two-game lead in the division over the Toronto Blue Jays, New York Yankees, and Baltimore Orioles.
The Red Sox opened their three-game series with the Rays on Tuesday night, posting a 1-0 victory on the strength of a solid pitching performance from starter Wade Miley, who held Tampa Bay to just three hits in 5 2/3 innings to pick up his first win of the campaign.
The victory extended Boston’s winning streak against the Rays to three games, improving the Red Sox to 4-2 in their last six contests at the Trop, including shutout wins in two of their last three games there.
The Red Sox will send Joe Kelly to the mound Wednesday. Kelly (1-0, 2.13 ERA) has been solid in a pair of starts this season, allowing just one hit in seven innings of work in his season debut, earning the win over the Yankees back on April 11, before spreading four hits over 5 2/3 innings in his most recent start against the Orioles.
The Rays will respond with Nate Karns (1-1, 4.58), who looks to be settling down after a shaky season debut against Baltimore. Karns looked solid against the Yankees in his last outing, allowing just two hits in five innings, although both of those hits went yard.
Following their series in Tampa Bay, the Red Sox continue their stretch of 22 straight games against AL East division rivals with a weekend series in Baltimore.
The Orioles split a four-game series at Fenway Park last weekend and are on a two-game skid heading into their Wednesday night tilt with the Blue Jays as razor-thin +101 moneyline underdogs on the baseball betting lines.
Baltimore posted an 11-8 record against the Red Sox last season en route to its first AL East title since 1997, but the Orioles currently trail Boston on the MLB futures.
The Red Sox own strong 12-1 odds to win the World Series after opening the campaign at 10-1. Despite their middling 7-7 record in the early going, the Orioles have joined the Blue Jays at 20-1 on those futures after closing out spring training at 33-1, while the Yankees still sit in the middle of the pack with 33-1 odds.
Thumbnail photo via Kim Klement/USA TODAY Sports Images
