The Red Sox have two of the most promising lefty rookie pitchers in baseball. The Rays saw one of them, Connelly Early, two days ago and lost, 2-0. Now Tampa Bay gets the other one, Payton Tolle. He has a 2.04 ERA, 0.74 WHIP and a 11.7 strikeout rate for nine Innings. The Rays are 25th in slugging percentage and 24th in OPS vs. lefties. They also have the fourth-fewest home runs. Tampa Bay hitters are unfamiliar with Tolle. The Red Sox are 8-2 in their last 10 meetings against the Rays and 6-1 in their last seven games against them in Boston. Rays starter Nick Martinez is having his finest years so far with a 3-1 record, 1.71 ERA and 1.02 WHIP. Martinez, though, is 35 and has career numbers of 51-60, 4.05 ERA and a 1.29 ratio. Willson Contreras has hit a home run in three of the Red Sox’s last five day games and has a strong history against Martinez. Take the Red Sox.
