Boston Red Sox vs Tampa Bay Rays series preview

Previewing the four-game set between the Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays.

The Boston Red Sox (5-4) host the Tampa Bay Rays (5-5) for a four-game series starting this Friday at Fenway Park.

The Red Sox are struggling to stay above .500 at this point in the season. Right now they are tied for 2^nd place in the division with the New York Yankees. The starting pitching staff has a combined ERA of 4.73 and has been one of the main issues so far in the season.

The Rays are right at .500, however expectations were not very high for them coming into the season. They are coming off a series in which they got swept by the Yankees.

This series concludes on one of my favorite baseball days of the year, Marathon Monday.

Pitching Matchups

Friday, April 14 at 7:10 PM – Rick Porcello (1-0, 4.38 ERA) vs Chris Archer (1-0, 2.45 ERA)

Saturday, April 15 at 4:05 PM – Chris Sale (0-1, 1.23 ERA) vs Jake Odorizzi (1-1, 4.50 ERA)

Sunday, April 16 at 1:35 PM – Drew Pomeranz (1-0, 1.50 ERA) vs Alex Cobb (1-1, 3.46 ERA)

Monday, April 18 at 11:05 AM – Steven Wright (0-1, 13.50 ERA) vs Blake Snell (0-1, 3.18 ERA)

Series Notes

For the last series preview I wrote about how Mitch Moreland was the hitter to watch, especially because of the amount of doubles he hit against the Tigers. Well he has continued that tear, and has hit a double in 7 straight games. He leads the MLB with 8 total doubles so far this year, and has a slash line of .324/.410/.559.
Last week I also wrote about Matt Barnes and his spot in the bullpen. I said that he should be the 8^th inning guy, setting up Craig Kimbrel. After Farrell’s decision last night to pitch him again in the 8^th inning, it looks like he has officially cemented his place in the bullpen as the setup guy. In four appearances he has thrown a total of 4.2 innings, collecting 7 strikeouts. Look for him to see more time on the mound and in higher leverage situations.
Christian Vazquez seems to have fully recovered from the Tommy John surgery he had back in 2015. Last year he did not seem to have the same amount of arm strength that he had prior to the surgery. This year he has thrown out all 3 runners that have attempted to steal on him. His rocket-arm is back and runners should be afraid to steal on him.
Andrew Benintendi is off to a slow start. He is currently hitting .235 with only 1 extra base hit. He is expected by many to win the Rookie of the Year and I wrote about his potential during the offseason. While he has not performed to expectations yet, there is obviously still a lot of time for him to turn it around (which many of us expect). The bright side is that he has only struck out 4 times in 10 games. He’s making contact, but he just has not been able to find the holes in the defense.

Key Hitters

Boston Red Sox: Xander Bogaerts

2017 Season (5 Games): .333/.364/.333, 0 HR, 3 RBI

Career vs Tampa Bay Rays (53 Games): .277/.354/.421, 4 HR, 24 RBI