The Philadelphia Phillies and the Boston Red Sox continue this week’s interleague series this Tuesday night at Fenway Park with Game 2 of a four-game set. The first pitch is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. (ET), and the game will be available on MLB Extra Innings.

The Phillies efforts to get their overall record back over .500 came up short by dropping two out of three games against Washington this past weekend. They are now 24-26 on the year and 6.5 games in back of Atlanta in the NL East. The total went “over” in all three games.

Boston took three of four games against Cleveland at home over the Memorial Day Weekend to remain right on New York’s tail in the AL East title race. The Red Sox are 31-20 on the year, including a 16-11 record at home this season. The total has gone over in three of their last four games.

Phillies at Red Sox Betting Storylines

Philadelphia’s once-rock-solid pitching staff has already had its fair share of issues this season and comes into this series ranked 12th in the National League with a staff ERA of 4.15. Unfortunately, the Phillies have not been able to do a much better job at scoring runs with an average of 3.5 a game, which is also ranked 12th in the NL. The fact that they are just two games under .500 implies the heavy use of some smoke and mirrors to manufacture wins this season.

It will be Cliff Lee’s turn in the rotation for Tuesday night’s game. The left-hander has regained his form after a rough campaign in 2012 with a 5-2 record in his first 10 starts. He is coming off a gem against Miami in which he went the distance while giving up just three hits and no earned runs. His ERA on the year is now 2.48, and his WHIP is down to 1.02. Lifetime against Boston, Lee is 3-5 with a 3.81 ERA.

Very few people expected Boston to contend for the AL East crown this season after last year’s meltdown, but with 51 games under its belt it is playing just about as good as any other team in the American League. For the most part, the Red Sox pitching has held up pretty well so far with a team ERA of 3.85, but the real strength of this ballclub remains its bats. They are tied with Kansas City for fifth in the AL in hitting with a team batting average of .262. Boston has been able to make the most of all those hits by turning them into runs with an average of 4.94 per game. The lineup boasts five different batters with at least 20 RBI this season, led by Mike Napoli’s 37. David Ortiz is second with 34 RBI that includes eight home runs.

The Red Sox will go with Ryan Dempster as its starter for this contest. It has been a struggle for the right-hander so far with a 2-5 record and 4.69 ERA. He lasted only three innings his last time out after getting tagged by Cleveland for four runs. This helped his ERA balloon up to 10.66 in his last three starts. Dempster is 5-5 against the Phillies with a 5.27 ERA.

Phillies at Red Sox MLB Betting Odds and Trends

Philadelphia has been opened by BetOnline as +110 road underdogs for this game with the Red Sox listed as -120 home favorites. The total has been set at 8.

The Phillies are 1-4 in their last five interleague games but 5-2 in Lee’s last seven starts against a team with a winning record. The total has gone over in four of their last five games on the road.

The Red Sox are 56-21 in their last 77 interleague games at home and 51-22 in their last 73 games against the NL East. The total has gone over in four of their last five home games.

Philadelphia is just 8-20 in its last 28 games against Boston and 1-6 in last seven road games against this team. The total has gone over in seven of the last nine games played in Boston.

Phillies at Red Sox Picks and Betting Predictions

The Phillies actually have a very good shot at beating Boston in this game given Lee’s current form verses Dempster’s recent control problems. Look for another solid outing from the left-hander as Philadelphia squeezes out a rare win on the road against the Red Sox.

How about $60 worth of member’s baseball picks absolutely free? – You can use this $60 credit for any of our top MLB handicappers. Get on board now.

Read more articles by Dave Schwab