Boston Red Sox at Tampa Bay Rays, MLB forecast
Win probability
Starts from the pregame forecast, then moves with the score and the time left after each inning. Above the line favors TB.
Game center
From the ESPN box score.
Top performers
Red Sox- Nick SogardBatting1-2
- Brayan BelloPitching5.2 IP, 1 ER, 7 K
Rays- Dylan CarlsonBatting1-4, 1 RBI
- Zack LittellPitching7.0 IP, 0 ER, 7 K
Scoring summary
- 7Carlson grounded out to second, Walls scored.0–2
- 7Pitch 3 : Ball In Play0–2
- 7Pitch 2 : Ball 10–2
- 7Pitch 1 : Strike 1 Swinging0–2
- 3B. Lowe hit sacrifice fly to right, Siri scored.0–1
- 3Pitch 1 : Ball In Play0–1
The pick
Reconstructed from what was known before the game: the ratings at that point and the closing line.
Red Sox 51%
Forecast Elo ratings alone
How often that comes true: MLB favorites the forecast gave 50–55% have won 52.7% of 2,871 graded games.
- Market
- BOS 51%
- ML BOS -115 / TB -105
- Pre-line forecast
- BOS 51%
- Elo + market-implied
- Elo ratings
- BOS 46%
- Ratings vs. market
- −5.0 pts
- BOS: Elo 46.1%, market 51.1%
- Fair odds
- BOS -104
- TB +104 · the forecast as odds, no margin
- Pregame projection
- BOS 3.8 – 3.7 TB
- Margin from the forecast, posted total 7.5
How the number is built
Elo inputs in rating points (higher favors that team; 25–28 Elo is about a point of spread in football and basketball), then how the pieces combine.
| Factor | BOS | TB | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Team rating | 1492 | 1504 | Elo entering the game; 1500 is league average |
| Home field | — | +18 | Worth 18 Elo in MLB |
| Starting pitchers | +7 | +4 | BOS: Brayan Bello: team allows 0.35 fewer runs than with its usual starter (≈10 weighted starts) · TB: Zack Littell: team allows 0.21 fewer runs than with its usual starter (≈10 weighted starts) |
| Elo ratings | TB +27 Elo | TB 53.9% | |
| Market-implied ratings | BOS 52.2% | Team strength as past closing lines priced it, same game context | |
| Pre-line forecast | BOS 51.3% | 15% Elo, 85% market-implied (log-odds blend) | |
| Forecast | BOS 51.1% | Follows the market (vig removed): in testing, adding the ratings made it less accurate | |
Tale of the tape
This season coming into the game, regular season, each number with its league rank (the longer the bar, the higher). Home and road: the host's record at home against the visitor's on the road.
| BOS | Stat | TB |
|---|---|---|
| 9th of 304.7 | Runs scored | 3.829th of 30 |
| 24th of 304.7 | Runs allowed | 4.212th of 30 |
| 18th of 300.0 | Margin | −0.423rd of 30 |
| 20th of 304–6 | Last 10 | 4–620th of 30 |
| 8th of 3041–36 | Road vs home | 38–3921st of 30 |
Rating history
Each team's Elo over the last two seasons. Hover or drag to compare on any date.
Recent form
Last five results, and whether the forecast hit.
Against the line
How each team has done against the closing spread and total, coming into this game.
| This season |  BOS |  TB |
|---|---|---|
| Run line | 69–82 | 72–79 |
| Last 10 | 6–4 | 6–4 |
| Favorite | 28–53 | 24–45 |
| Underdog | 41–29 | 48–34 |
| Overs–unders | 77–72–2 | 70–81 |
| Overs–unders, last 10 | 4–6 | 2–8 |
Against each game's closing line. Books set every line knowing these records: across 3,901 past games, the team with the better record against the spread so far that season covered 51.2%, short of the 52.4% a standard −110 bet needs, and over/under streaks held 48.0% of the time. They describe the past.
Head to head
BOS 7–15 TB in their last 22 meetings; the forecast called 11 of 22.