The Tampa Bay Rays are starting to head into unchartered waters as they’ve tied the wild card era record with their 9-0 start to the 2023 season. TB matched the 2003 Royals for the longest winning streak to start a season, a record they hope to break on Monday night against AL East rival Boston (5-4). The Red Sox are fresh off a series sweep of their own in Detroit, and would love to be the team to hand Tampa Bay their first loss of the season.
Before Betting on Red Sox vs Rays
The thing about Tampa Bay’s impressive 9-0 start to the season is that they aren’t squeaking out 2-1 or even 5-4 victories – they’re dominating teams with their closest margin being 4 runs. The Rays outscored Oakland 31-5 this past weekend, including back-to-back 11-0 wins on Saturday and Sunday.
The Rays will try to get to 10-0 while likely using an opener in Jalen Beeks. It almost doesn’t even matter who is on the mound lately for Tampa Bay with their #1 ranked scoring offense with an absurd 8.33 runs/game while also leading the Majors in OPS (.967) and while hitting 24 HRs in 9 games. By the way Tampa Bay also has the #1 team pitching ERA in MLB at just 1.89 with a 0.94 WHIP.
Nick Pivetta gets the somewhat unenviable task of facing this red hot Rays offense on Monday night at Tropicana Field. Pivetta gave up 2 HR (only 1 ER) in his first start of the season against Pittsburgh, a 4-1 Red Sox loss, and had a 6.86 ERA in four starts vs Tampa Bay in 2022.
Boston vs Tampa Bay MLB Offshore Betting Odds
| Offshore Sportsbook | Moneyline | Total | Run Line |
|---|---|---|---|
| BetOnline | Red Sox (2.37) | Rays (1.67) | 8.5 | Red Sox +1.5 (1.74) | Rays -1.5 (2.15) |
| Bovada | Red Sox (2.34) | Rays (1.63) | 8.5 | Red Sox +1.5 (1.71) | Rays -1.5 (2.20) |
| BetUS | Red Sox (2.35) | Rays (1.67) | 8.5 | Red Sox +1.5 (1.69) | Rays -1.5 (2.55) |
| SportsBetting.ag | Red Sox (2.37) | Rays (1.67) | 8.5 | Red Sox +1.5 (1.74) | Rays -1.5 (2.15) |
| Pinnacle | Red Sox (OFF) | Rays (OFF) | OFF | Red Sox (OFF) | Rays (OFF) |
| MyBookie | Red Sox (2.31) | Rays (1.62) | 8.5 | Red Sox +1.5 (1.64) | Rays -1.5 (2.27) |
Red Sox vs Rays Prediction & Pick
Has the gravy train passed or is there one more good chance to ride the Rays? One has to think with the MLB record for best start to the season on the line – and against division rival Boston – Tampa Bay gets another big victory on Monday night. If the streak ends, so be it but we are ready to take that chance.
