MLB Picks: Boston Red Sox vs. Tampa Bay Rays

Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Jon Lester is 17-5 with a 2.83 ERA in the month of June during his career. This is important to consider when making your MLB picks Tuesday, as Lester prepares to face the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field.

Sports bettors will find that the Red Sox are -135 road favorites in the pro baseball odds (courtesy of SBR Forum), while the total sits between 8 and 8.5 runs in the market.

Let's take a closer look at this American League East matchup from a betting perspective, while offering up a prediction on the total along the way.

Boston Red Sox

The Boston Red Sox have won eight of their last 11 games, including a 10-8 extra-innings victory over the Tampa Bay Rays as +129 road underdogs Monday night, while going OVER the total for a fifth consecutive contest.

MLB handicappers will find that the UNDER is 9-4 in Jon Lester's last 13 starts in this series.

Tampa Bay Rays

The Tampa Bay Rays are 1-6 against the Boston Red Sox during the 2013 MLB campaign.They have hit just .129 with runners in scoring position in those seven contests.

Rays starting pitcher Roberto Hernandez is 2-2 with a 4.08 ERA in five home starts this season. Opposing hitters are batting just .227 against him.

Prediction

I'm going to recommend that readers play the total in the first five innings as one of their MLB picks Tuesday, as the UNDER is 11-6-2 in the Tampa Bay Rays' last 19 games as home underdogs of +100 to +125.

MLB Pick: Under 4.5 First Five Innings

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