Tonight is Game 2 of the four-game series at Fenway Park between the Tampa Bay Rays (25-12) and the Boston Red Sox (16-22).
The Rays won their ninth game in their last ten last night with an 8-4 win over the Red Sox at Fenway Park. Junior Caminero and Chandler Simpson drove in a combined five runs to pace the attack and Hunter Bigge picked up his first win of the season in relief of Griffin Jax. The Sox did touch up Tampa for four runs. It was the first time since April 21 the Rays allowed more than three runs to an opponent. Boston scored their runs on six singles and a double. Jake Bennett allowed four runs over five innings to take the loss. The Sox have now lost three straight at home.
Tampa Bay will hand the ball today to Jesse Scholtens, who carries a 3-1 record and 3.18 ERA. Scholtens has allowed just three earned runs over his last two starts covering 7.1 innings, suggesting the 32-year-old hurler may be finding his way. Offensively, the Rays continue to shine with a .257 team batting average and consistent run production, led by Junior Caminero’s 10 home runs and Yandy Díaz’s consistent bat (.323 average).
Boston counters with Connelly Early, a left-hander who has shown flashes of promise but oddly enough has struggled at Fenway, entering tonight 0-2 with a 6.75 ERA at home. The Red Sox offense has not helped, hitting .237 as a team for the season.
Tonight, and the rest of the weekend is about Boston trying to get into the race in the American League East while the Rays look to keep pace with the Yankees at the top of that division.
Lets dive into tonight’s matchup and find a sweat or two.
We’ve got all the info and analysis you need to know ahead of the game, including the latest info on the how to catch first pitch, odds, recent team performance, player stats, and of course, our predictions, picks & best bets for the game from our modeling tools and staff of experts.
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Game Details and How to Watch: Red Sox vs. Rays
- Date: Friday, May 8, 2026
- Time: 7:10PM EST
- Site: Fenway Park
- City: Boston, MA
- Network/Streaming: MLB.TV, Rays.TV, NESN
Never miss a second of the action and stay up-to-date with all the latest team stats and player news. Check out our day-by-day MLB schedule page, along with detailed matchup pages that update live in-game with every out.
The Latest Odds: Red Sox vs. Rays
The latest odds as of Friday courtesy of DraftKings:
- Moneyline: Boston Red Sox (-136), Tampa Bay Rays (+113)
- Spread: Red Sox -1.5 (+153), Rays +1.5 (-186)
- Total: 8.5 runs
Probable Starting Pitchers: Red Sox vs. Rays
Pitching matchup for May 8:
- Red Sox: Connelly Early
Season Totals: 35.2 IP, 2-2, 3.79 ERA, 1.32 WHIP, 31K, 17 BB - Rays: Jesse Scholtens
Season Totals: 22.2 IP, 3-1, 3.18 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 17K, 6 BB
Who’s Hot? Who’s Not! Red Sox vs. Rays
- Yandy Diaz is 4-12 over his last games
- Chandler Simpson has hit in 4 straight (6-14) and 8 of his last 9 games (11-34)
- Connor Wong is not playing every day but has hit safely in each of his last 3 games
- Jarren Duran is 1-12 over his last 3 games
Rotoworld still has you covered with all the latest MLB player news for all 30 teams. Check out the feed page right here on NBC Sports for headlines, injuries and transactions where you can filter by league, team, positions and news type!
Top Betting Trends & Insights: Red Sox vs. Rays
- The Rays are 11-8 on the road this season
- The Red Sox are 6-11 at home this season
- The Rays are 24-13 on the Run Line this season
- The Red Sox are 13-25 on the Run Line this season
- The OVER has cashed 19 times in Boston games this season (19-18-1)
- The OVER has cashed 17 times in Rays’ games this season (17-17-3)
If you’re looking for more key trends and stats around the spread, moneyline and total for every single game on the schedule today, check out our MLB Top Trends tool on NBC Sports!
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Expert picks & predictions: Red Sox vs. Rays
Rotoworld Bet Best Bet
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Our model calculates projections around each moneyline, spread and over/under bet for every game on the MLB calendar based on data points like past performance, player matchups, ballpark information and weather forecasts.
Once the model is finished running, we put its projection next to the latest betting lines for the game to arrive at a relative confidence level for each wager.
Here are the best bets our model is projecting for tonight’s game between the Red Sox and the Rays:
- Moneyline: Rotoworld Bet is recommending a play on the Rays on the Moneyline
- Spread: Rotoworld Bet is leaning towards a play on the Rays on the Run Line
- Total: Rotoworld Bet is recommending a play on the Game Total OVER 8.5 runs
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