Free Pick | MLB | Saturday | Aug. 27

#916 Boston Red Sox (Hill) +115 over Tampa Bay Rays (Springs) 3:10 PM CT

Boston is 17-10 vs. left-handed starters this season and while Jeffrey Springs is viewed a better option than Rich Hill, these pitchers have nearly identical CSW% rates this season at just over 29 percent. In the past 10 games Boston is batting .333 with 8.2 runs per nine vs. left-handers and Springs has cleared six innings just four times this season and only once in his last seven starts. Boston scored three runs in four innings on Springs in July and the Rays saw a six-game winning streak ended by the Red Sox last night. Boston has a 16-9 edge in hits and a 20-9 edge in at-bats with runners in scoring position as the game should not have been as close as the one-run final. Tampa Bay put a lot of strain on the bullpen to start the series last night with five pitchers throwing including high pitch counts for three relievers. The host has now won five in a row and eight of the past 10 between these teams. Rich Hill has a 4.68 ERA this season but he has drawn recent starts vs. Atlanta and Houston. He had a scoreless outing vs. Tampa Bay earlier this season and despite being a playoff threat, the Rays are a bottom 10 offensive team in almost every major category in great contrast to the Red Sox. The lefty-lefty pairing should play to Boston’s strengths and Hill can keep Boston in this game in a more even pitching assignment than the season numbers suggest.

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