Boston Red Sox vs Tampa Bay Rays Prediction, 10/8/2021 MLB Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Boston Red Sox vs Tampa Bay Rays

Date: Friday, October 8, 2021

Location: Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, FL

TV: FS1

Odds/Point Spread: Boston (+100) Tampa Bay (-125)

Chris Sale and the Boston Red Sox (92-70, 2nd in AL East) go to Tropicana Field on Friday where they'll meet the Tampa Bay Rays (100-62, 1st in AL East). The line on this matchup has the Red Sox priced at +100 and the Rays are at -125. The O/U opens at 7. The expected starting pitchers are Chris Sale and Shane Baz.

As a team, the Boston Red Sox are notching 5.1 runs per contest, which puts them at 4th in the league. They have accumulated 829 runs while holding a team OBP of .328. The Red Sox have accounted for 330 doubles as a team and have hit 219 balls out of the stadium. They have accumulated 783 runs batted in and 1,434 base knocks over the course of the season, while their team batting average is at .261. Boston owns a slugging percentage of .449 and have struck out 1,386 times, while taking a walk on 512 occasions.

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The Red Sox have a team earned run average of 4.26 this season (15th in baseball), and their staff has rung up 1,527 hitters. Their pitching staff has walked 546 opposing players and their FIP is 3.95 as a team for the season. Their strikeout to walk ratio sits at 2.80 and the pitching staff has a collective WHIP of 1.38. Red Sox pitchers have allowed 176 long balls and 749 runs in total (18th in MLB).

The Red Sox relief pitchers have recorded a save rate of 64.5% and has come into the game in 176 save situations. The relief pitchers have inherited 277 base runners over the course of the season and 30.7% of those players ended up crossing the plate. Red Sox bullpen pitchers have entered the contest with runners on 177 times and also have had 198 appearances in high leverage situations. The Red Sox have dispatched 563 relievers to the hill over the course of the season. The relievers have a total of 95 holds this year (7th in MLB). They have 49 saves on the campaign and have missed out on 27 out of their 76 chances to get a save.

The Boston Red Sox have a total of 4,257 putouts over the course of the season, as well as 1,421 assists and 108 errors. Their fielding rate is currently at .981 which is 29th in pro baseball, and have a total of 1,104 double plays. The Red Sox have converted 65.9% of balls in play into outs out of their 12,771 innings on the diamond, ranking them 30th in professional baseball.

Sale (114-74 career win-loss mark) has a FIP of 2.92 while facing 6,727 hitters during his time in the majors. He has conceded 1,357 hits (7.3 hits per nine innings) with 386 walks. His earned run average is 3.03 (563 ER's allowed) and his WHIP is 1.042. Sale has taken the hill for 1,672 innings and has 2,059 strikeouts so far in his MLB career.

Tampa Bay is sitting with 222 long balls so far this season and 810 runs batted in. They have 288 two-baggers, while getting a free base 585 times and putting up 857 runs. The Tampa Bay Rays have accounted for an on-base percentage of .321 in addition to a batting average of .242 this season. The Rays hold a team SLG% of .428 and they score 5.29 runs per game (2nd in the league). They have struck out on 1,542 occasions (3rd in MLB) and have earned a total of 1,335 hits.

The Tampa Bay pitching staff have yielded 651 runs over the course of the season and come in with a team ERA of 3.67 (593 earned runs yielded). They have allowed 184 HR's and they allow 4.03 runs per 9 innings (4th in the league). The Rays have a WHIP of 1.168 and have a FIP of 3.79 as a staff on the campaign. Their strikeout to walk ratio sits at 3.39 (1,478 strikeouts vs 436 free passes). They are currently ranked 11th in the league as a pitching staff in total hits surrendered with 1,264.

Sitting with 159 save situations, the Rays have tallied 91 holds in addition to 22 blown saves. Tampa Bay has called on relievers to take the mound in 64 save opportunities and they have earned 42 saves. Their relief pitchers have come in 180 times in high leverage situations and on 126 occasions with base runners. Tampa Bay relief pitchers have an inherited score rate of 27.7% of 166 inherited base runners. They are currently ranked 7th in the league with a save percentage of 65.6%, and they have dispatched 531 bullpen pitchers onto the diamond this year.

Out of their 13,101 innings played, the Rays have accumulated a efficiency on defense of 70.6% (7th in pro baseball). The Tampa Bay Rays have turned 130 double plays and hold a fielding percentage of .986 (9th in baseball). The Rays have recorded 1,358 assists, 80 errors and have accounted for 4,367 putouts on the campaign.

Thus far in his career, Baz has conceded 6 base knocks while totaling 18 strikeouts in 13 frames. Baz (2-0 career win-loss record) has a 2.03 ERA while surrendering 4.1 hits per 9 innings. He has surrendered 3 earned runs while holding a WHIP of 0.675 and a FIP of 4.1. His strikeout to walk ratio is 6.00 and he has gone up against 49 batters so far in his career.

Who will win tonight's baseball game against the spread?

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Boston (+100)

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