The Tampa Bay Rays (74-78) and Boston Red Sox (76-76) will meet on Thursday at Tropicana Field, with first pitch at 6:50 p.m. ET.

The Rays are a close favorite (-111 to win on the moneyline) when they take the field against the Red Sox (-108). The scheduled starters are Zack Littell (7-9) for the Tampa Bay Rays, and Brayan Bello (14-7) for the Boston Red Sox.

These clubs play again after the Red Sox’s 2-1 victory over the Rays yesterday. Justin Slaten (1.0 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 2 K) earned the win for the Red Sox. Trevor Story went 2-for-3 with a home run and an RBI to lead the team on offense. Drew Rasmussen (1.1 IP, 1 R, 3 H, 2 K) took the loss on the mound for the Rays.

Here is everything you need to prepare for Thursday’s Rays vs. Red Sox matchup, including viewing options.

Tampa Bay Rays vs. Boston Red Sox odds and betting lines

MLB odds courtesy of BetMGM Sportsbook. Odds updated Thursday at 9:16 a.m. ET. For a full list of Sports betting odds, access USA TODAY Sports Betting Scores Odds Hub.

  • Favorite: Rays (-111, bet $111 to win $100)
  • Underdog: Red Sox (-108, bet $108 to win $100)
  • Over/under: 7.5

Rays vs. Red Sox: Live streaming info & game time

  • Game Day: Thursday, September 19, 2024
  • Game Time: 6:50 p.m. ET
  • Stadium: Tropicana Field
  • TV Channel: Bally Sports
  • Live Stream: Fubo (Watch for free)

Rays stats and trends

Rays betting records

  • The Rays have won 34, or 51.5%, of the 66 games they’ve played as favorites this season.
  • Tampa Bay has a record of 34-31, a 52.3% win rate, when favored by -111 or more by bookmakers this season.
  • The implied probability of a win from the Rays, based on the moneyline, is 52.6%.
  • So far this season, Tampa Bay and its opponents have hit the over in 67 of 152 games with a total.
  • The Rays have an ATS record of 85-66-0 in 151 games with a spread this season.

Zack Littell (Rays probable starter)

  • Littell makes the start for the Rays, his 28th of the season. He is 7-9 with a 3.73 ERA and 127 strikeouts in 144 2/3 innings pitched.
  • In his last time out on Friday, the righty went six scoreless innings against the Cleveland Guardians while surrendering two hits.
  • The 28-year-old has amassed a 3.73 ERA and 7.9 strikeouts per nine innings across 27 games this season, while giving up a batting average of .271 to opposing hitters.
  • Littell heads into this outing with nine quality starts under his belt this season.
  • Littell will try to build on a three-game streak of lasting five or more innings (he’s averaging 5.3 innings per appearance).
  • He will try for his third straight outing without surrendering an earned run.
  • The opposing Red Sox offense has a collective .254 batting average, and is fifth in the league with 1332 total hits and 10th in MLB action with 715 runs scored. It has the fifth-ranked slugging percentage (.429) and ranks eighth in home runs (189) in all of MLB.
  • Littell has thrown 10 2/3 innings, giving up six earned runs on 10 hits while striking out 10 against the Red Sox this season.

Rays batting stats

  • The Rays rank 27th in Major League Baseball with just 140 home runs as a team.
  • Hitters for Tampa Bay have combined to rank 28th in the majors with a .370 team slugging percentage.
  • The Rays rank 27th in MLB with a team batting average of just .231.
  • Tampa Bay has scored 579 runs (just 3.8 per game) this season, which ranks 29th in MLB.
  • The Rays have the 23rd-ranked on-base percentage in MLB this season (.304).
  • Tampa Bay ranks 25th in MLB in strikeouts per game with an average of 9.2 whiffs per contest.

Red Sox stats and trends

Red Sox betting records

  • The Red Sox have won in 35, or 47.9%, of the 73 contests they have been named as odds-on underdogs this year.
  • Boston has a win-loss record of 34-36 when favored by -108 or worse by oddsmakers this year.
  • The Red Sox have an implied victory probability of 51.9% according to the moneyline set for this matchup.
  • Boston and its opponents have gone over in 76 of its 150 games with a total set by sportsbooks this season.
  • The Red Sox are 68-82-0 against the spread in their 150 games with a line set by sportsbooks this season.

Brayan Bello (Red Sox probable starter)

  • Bello (14-7) takes the mound first for the Red Sox in his 29th start of the season. He has a 4.60 ERA in 152 2/3 innings pitched, with 142 strikeouts.
  • In his most recent time out on Saturday, the righty tossed 5 1/3 innings against the New York Yankees, giving up one earned run while surrendering four hits.
  • The 25-year-old has put together a 4.60 ERA and 8.4 strikeouts per nine innings during 28 games this season, while allowing a batting average of .255 to opposing batters.
  • Bello has 10 quality starts under his belt this year.
  • Bello will try to build on an eight-game streak of lasting five or more innings (he’s averaging 5.4 frames per outing).
  • He has made two appearances this season in which he did not allow an earned run.
  • He will face a Rays offense that ranks 29th in the league with 579 total runs scored while batting .231 as a unit. His opponent has a collective .370 slugging percentage (28th in MLB action) and has hit a total of 140 home runs (27th in the league).
  • Bello has thrown six innings, giving up three earned runs on four hits while striking out six against the Rays this season.
  • This season, the 25-year-old ranks 51st in ERA (4.60), 52nd in WHIP (1.376), and 32nd in K/9 (8.4) among qualifying pitchers.

Red Sox batting stats

  • The Red Sox rank eighth in MLB action with 189 total home runs.
  • So far this year, Boston ranks fifth in the majors with a .429 slugging percentage.
  • The Red Sox have the fifth-best batting average in the league (.254).
  • The offense for Boston is No. 10 in baseball, scoring 4.7 runs per game (715 total runs).
  • The Red Sox’s .320 on-base percentage is seventh-best in MLB.
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