Red Sox: 3 keys to beating the Tampa Bay Rays in the ALDS
By Sean Penney
Here’s how the Boston Red Sox can beat the Rays in the ALDS
A thrilling Wild Card win over the New York Yankees has sent the Boston Red Sox to the American League Division Series, where they’ll face the Tampa Bay Rays.
The Rays captured their second consecutive AL East title with a 100-win season that earned them the top seed in the AL. They produced a +206 run differential that narrowly edged out the Houston Astros (+205) for the league’s best and trails only the Los Angels Dodgers (+269) and San Francisco Giants (+210) in the majors. The Red Sox finished second in their division and clinched the top Wild Card spot with a run differential of +80.
The head-to-head results between these division rivals suggest the teams aren’t all that far apart. Boston was 8-11 against Tampa Bay this season but the Rays outscored them by only two runs over those 19 games.
The Rays will be favored in this series but we can’t count out the Red Sox. There has been significant roster turnover since their championship run in 2018 but Boston still has plenty of veteran talent that has been battled tested on the postseason stage.
If Boston is going to pull off an upset, these three keys will be pivotal to their success.