Boston Red Sox vs. Tampa Bay Rays
Free Pick: Tampa Bay Rays (135)
Tue April 7 ’09 4:05p – Click here for MLB odds
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While we would like to preface this selection by saying that we expect the Tampa Bay Rays to regress this season after a magical World Series run last year, we do see value at this price in the opener vs. the Boston Red Sox today.

Rays starter James Shields has some of the nastiest stuff in the league, and he is one of the few Tampa Bay players that we could see either duplicating or even possibly improving on his season last year. He had good success against the Red Sox year also, recording four Quality Starts in six starts against them including a perfect two for two in the ALCS.

On the other hand, Josh Beckett was somewhat of a disappointment in 2008, going just 12-10 with a 4.03 ERA. As great as his reputation is, this marked the second time in three years that he had an ERA over 4.00 (it was a poor 5.01 in 2006), and he has become rather injury prone.

It remains to be seen if a heavy workload earlier in his career is a contribution factor, but the fact is that Beckett had a difficult time going beyond six innings when he did make it to the mound last season. As if that is not disconcerting enough, Beckett did not exactly fool the Rays batters in two starts in the ALCS, allowing a total of 10 earned runs and 13 hits in just 9.1 innings over two starts.

While it may be short-lived, look for the Tampa Bay magic from last year to carry over into opening day here.

MLB Free Pick: Rays +135

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