Tampa Bay Rays vs Boston Red Sox Baseball Picks

Written by Matt Foust

Tuesday, 07 April 2009

The Tampa Bay Rays and Boston Red Sox will renew their suddenly heated rivalry this afternoon at Fenway Park in Boston. These two squads last played a meaningful game on October 19th, 2008 when Tampa Bay beat the Red Sox 3-1 in game seven of the League Championship Series. Today's game is set to get underway at 4:05pm ET. Tampa Bay Rays vs Boston Red Sox Baseball Picks

Tampa Bay Rays vs Boston Red Sox Baseball Picks at SBGglobal.com have the Red Sox listed as a -140 moneyline favorite.

Tampa Bay surprised everyone last season — not with their solid play, as many pundits predicted they would be a better team than in season's past — but by winning the top spot in the AL East and dismissing the Red Sox from the playoffs to move onto the franchise's first World Series appearance. There will be no sneaking up this year as the Red Sox and Yankees retooled not only to deal with each other, but with the upstart Rays as well.

Tampa Bay returns most of last year's squad with the exception of hurler Edwin Jackson, who is now in Detroit. They also added a veteran outfielder and another big bat in former Philly, Pat Burrell.

Starting today for the Rays is right-handed pitcher James Shields. The California native had a wonderful 2008 season as the ace of the Tampa Bay rotation, going 14-8 with a 3.56 ERA. The 27 year old faced Boston six times last year; the Rays went 2-4 in those starts. Shields pitched a total of 31.6 innings in the six games, giving up 35 hits and 18 earned runs. He also struck out 26 while walking 10.

The 6'4" Shields looked everything from prince to pauper against Boston in 2008. In an April start at Tropicana Field, he pitched a nine inning shutout, giving up just two hits while striking out seven. He followed that effort up with a 3 inning, 10 hit, seven earned run outing in Bean Town.

The Red Sox finished right on the heels of the Rays in the AL East standings last year with a 95-67 record. They concluded spring training in fifth place in the Grapefruit League after winning 20 of their 34 preseason games.

Boston's offseason additions indicate that they are more than ready to make a push at regaining their AL East crown. The Red Sox upgraded an already potent pitching staff by adding veteran starters Brad Penny and John Smoltz (DL) as well as power relievers Ramon Ramirez and Takashi Saito.

Terry Francona will send Josh Beckett to the bump this afternoon to face Tampa Bay. The Texas right-hander had a sub-par season in 2008, by his standards, finishing with a 12-10 record and a 4.03 ERA. However, he had pretty good success against the Rays last year, pitching 36.1 innings in six starts and giving up 17 earned runs while striking out 38 batters.

Tampa Bay went 10-8 versus the Red Sox last year, but won just two of nine at Fenway Park.

SBGglobal.com's Tampa Bay Rays vs Boston Red Sox Baseball Picks:

Tampa Bay +1.5 (-165), Over 8.5 (-110), +120 (Moneyline)

Boston -1.5 (+145), Under 8.5 (-110), -140 (Moneyline)