Tampa Bay Rays vs. Boston Red Sox Odds & Prediction: June 30th 2010

Teams that are clearly heading in the opposite direction right now do battle in the AL East for the second game of a three game set, as the Tampa Bay Rays and Boston Red Sox wage MLB betting warfare against each other on Wednesday night.
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The Red Sox hung on for an 8-5 victory on Tuesday night to stretch out their lead over Tampa Bay in the AL Wild Card race to a pair of games. Boston is currently just a game behind the New York Yankees in the AL East, while the Rays are three back.

Tampa Bay Rays (44-32, -$354) vs. Boston Red Sox (47-31, +$671)
Game Date/Time: Wednesday, June 30th, 7:10 ET
Game Location: Fenway Park, Boston, MA
TV/Radio Broadcast: Sun Sports, MASN, XM

MLB Odds: Tampa Bay Rays -103 (Matt Garza – R) vs. Boston Red Sox -117 (Daisuke Matsuzaka – R): Total Over/Under 9.5

RHP Matt Garza badly needs to return to the form that he had two years ago when he was named the MVP of the ALCS against these Red Sox in order to pitch the Rays to victory tonight. Since seeing these Red Sox back on May 26th, Garza has watched his ERA balloon from 2.37 all the way up to the 4.10 that it sits at as we speak. Yes, his 8-5 record does match his win total from a year ago and is only three shy of his 11-9 season the year that Tampa Bay went to the World Series, but Garza will be the first to tell you that these aren’t acceptable numbers. He has allowed 13 homers in his 15 starts this year, which is on a pace to destroy the 25 home runs he gave up in all of ’09. Three of those bombs came in his last start against Boston.

RHP Daisuke Matsuzaka, on the other hand, has been pitching out of his mind since that same point in May. Dice-K has only allowed six earned runs over his last 32.1 innings of work, which has dropped his ERA down to 4.50 from the 7.89 it was at in the middle of May. The righty is 2-4 with a 4.05 ERA in his career against Tampa Bay, but comes into this game with a 5-2 mark in his nine starts overall this year.

MLB Insider Tip: Tampa Bay is a woeful 20-54 in its L/74 trips to Fenway Park, and even though history is starting to right itself with that trend, there is no doubt that it is still worth noting.

It doesn’t matter how many injuries the Red Sox seem to incur. They always seem to find a way to keep firing back and winning games. Tampa Bay is clearly on the wrong side of a lot of close decisions right now, and we wouldn’t be surprised to see yet another close game go against it in Beantown on Wednesday night.
Stick with the Sox in MLB betting action on Hump Day.

My MLB Prediction: Boston Red Sox (Matsuzaka)
Source: BetUS Locker Room Featured on: Handicapperspicks.com

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