The basement meets the penthouse. On Monday, the Boston Red Sox, currently rotting in the AL East cellar with a miserable 27-36 record, crawl into Tropicana Field to face the division-leading Tampa Bay Rays, who sit comfortably at 37-25. It should be a blowout. But baseball is weird. Oddsmakers are treating this like a coin flip, putting Boston at -115 and Tampa at -105.
Why? Look at the mound. Connelly Early gets the nod for Boston, carrying a respectable 3.26 ERA and 63 strikeouts into the swampy Florida heat. Tampa counters with Ian Seymour. Seymour is undefeated at 3-0, but his bloated 5.23 ERA suggests he’s been playing with fire, relying heavily on run support to bail out a 1.35 WHIP.
Here is how to subject yourself to this Monday night drama.
First pitch is scheduled for 6:40 p.m. ET (3:40 p.m. PT) on Monday, June 8. If you are stuck in New England, tune your television to NESN. Florida locals can catch the broadcast on Rays.TV. For the cord-cutters and out-of-market masochists, the game will stream live on ESPN+ and MLB.TV, with real-time updates available on Yahoo Sports.
The weather outside the dome will be a sticky 91 degrees, but the real heat is on the field. This is Game 1 of a three-game set. The bookies have set the over/under at 8 runs, with Boston favored at -1.5 on the spread. It is a classic trap game. Bet at your own risk.
