MLB Betting - Boston Red Sox vs. Tampa Bay Rays

May baseball betting kicks off tonight with a full slate of games for sports betting fanatics to dig into. As a part of the action, the Boston Red Sox (14-8, +$375) will look to rebound from its shellacking on Thursday, while the Tampa Bay Rays (9-14, -$659) are still looking to get back in contention in the AL East. Last night, Tampa Bay RHP Matt Garza threw the gem that Manager Joe Maddon so badly needed, as he was perfect into the 7th inning, and ended the game with 7.2 frames of nearly flawless baseball. 3B Evan Longoria blasted a homer as a part of his 3-for-5 day, while backup C Michel Hernandez went 4-for-5 with three ribbies. It was an unusually bad effort from the Boston bullpen, which had a sub 2.00 ERA coming into last night’s action.

You can find Boston as -130 road favorites and a ‘total’ of 9 over -115 right now at BetUS Sportsbook - the top MLB betting site!

The Sox will hand the ball to RHP Justin Masterson this evening. After being used in a long relief role at the start of the season, Masterson has appeared to find a niche in the Boston rotation, as this will be his third straight start. He’s been virtually spotless in his last 14.2 innings, as he has only conceded two runs on 12 hits, and has fanned 13 along the way. In Masterson’s last outing on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball, he pitched 5.1 strong frames against the Bronx Bombers to lead the boys from Beantown to the 4-1 home victory. The righty’s career against the Rays is so-so at best, as he is 1-2 with a 5.28 ERA and 1.57 WHIP in 15.1 innings pitched. While Masterson is 7-0 in 24 career appearances at Fenway Park, Red Sox bettors should be aware that he is just 1-5 with a 3.48 career ERA away from home.

RHP Andy Sonnanstine may be pitching for his spot in the Tampa Bay rotation this evening. “Sonny” is 0-3 in four starts, and has the 7th worst money mark for pitchers in baseball (-$428). In his last outing, he was lit up for seven runs in just 4.0 innings of work against the Oakland A’s. This is starting to become a painful trend for Maddon to watch. His righty seemingly allows contact to be made against every batter (only 7.50 BBs and Ks per nine innings LY), and luck seems to be catching up with him. The Rays may have four Gold Glove-caliber infielders, but not every ball can be hit in their range. With LHP David Pryce just about ready to be called up from AAA Durham, someone is going to have to leave the rotation to fill his spot. Not only may “Sonny” be pitching for his place in the rotation, if he is that ineffective, he may be pitching for his spot on the Major League roster.

It’s hard to not like the ‘over’ in this game. The Sox are going to muster more than one hit tonight, particularly with the streaky Sonnanstine on the hill. Masterson likely won’t go more than 6.0 innings at best and does have that history of getting hit on the road. Boston should win it, but it’s hard to bet against a team that went 57-24 and won $2,701 last season at home. Play the ‘over’ with confidence.

Our Pick: Over 9 -115

Check out BetUS for the latest baseball odds, betting analysis and free MLB picks.