Are the Tampa Bay Rays the best team in the major leagues? They aren’t favored to win their first-ever World Series but they are the lone unbeaten in MLB. Can they get to 10-0 on Monday? Here’s a look at that matchup and one other interesting game. Check back for MLB odds.

Top MLB Betting Picks of the Week (April 10th, 2023)

The Rays became baseball's first team to start 9-0 since 2003, slugging an MLB-best 24 home runs in the process. https://t.co/lc9GPqUJLL

— USA TODAY Sports (@usatodaysports) April 10, 2023

READ MORE: Tigers vs. Blue Jays MLB Odds, Preview and Prediction – April 12, 2023

Boston Red Sox vs. Tampa Bay Rays

• When: Monday, April 10, 2023, 6:40 PM ET
• Where: Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, FL
• TV: NESN, BSSUN, MLBN
• Radio: WEEI-FM 93.7 (Red Sox) // WDAE 95.3 FM (Rays)
• Live Stream: MLB.tv
• MLB Betting Odds: Red Sox (+131) / Rays (-152)

First meeting of the season between AL East rivals. Tampa Bay has started 9-0, but it’s important to note the Rays have played an incredibly easy schedule: Three at home vs. Detroit, three at Washington and three vs. Oakland. The Nationals and A’s might be the two worst teams in the majors. The Tigers aren’t very good, either. The Rays’ six-game winning streak at Tropicana Field is their longest to open a home slate in club history, surpassing three-game runs by the 2002, 2012 and 2022 clubs.

The Rays currently have the youngest average batting age (26.9 yrs.) and third-youngest average pitching age (28.1 yrs.) in MLB. Tampa Bay’s current 26-man roster features only four players over the age of 30: RHP Jason Adam (31), C Christian Bethancourt (31), INF Yandy Díaz (31) and RHP Ryan Thompson (31).

The MLB record for wins to start a season is 13 by the 1982 Atlanta Braves and 1987 Milwaukee Brewers. That Atlanta team would go on to win the NL West after its historically hot start, although the Braves lost in the NL Championship Series to the Cardinals. Even after their first loss, the Brewers won seven of their next nine games for a 20-3 record. And even though they had two Hall of Famers in the lineup, Robin Yount and Paul Molitor, Milwaukee would not make the playoffs despite finishing with a 91-71 record.

Lefty Josh Fleming is scheduled for Tampa Bay on the mound. He allowed runs on 10 hits in his first start of the season at Washington, issuing one walk while fanning a pair over 3.0 innings of work. He escaped without a loss as the Rays rallied for six runs over the final two innings to claim a 10-6 victory.

Over six career games (4 starts) against Boston, Fleming is 1-3 with a 9.59 ERA (25.1IP, 27ER). He made three appearances (one start) against the Red Sox in 2022, going 0-2 with a 7.82 ERA (12.2IP, 11ER).

Boston counters with Nick Pivetta (0-1). He took the loss last Tuesday as the Red Sox were downed 4-1 by the Pirates, giving up three runs (one earned) on three hits and three walks over five innings. He struck out six. Pivetta served up homers to Ji Hwan Bae and Bryan Reynolds. The right-hander allowed a career-high 27 long balls last year, and his issues keeping the ball in the park are a large part of the reason why he’s never had an ERA below 4.50 in his big-league career.

MLB Betting Pick: Rays

Detroit Tigers vs. Toronto Blue Jays

• When: Tuesday, April 11, 2023, 7:07 PM ET
• Where: Rogers Centre, Toronto, Ontario
• TV: BSDET, SNET
• Radio: WXYT-FM 97.1 (Tigers) // 96.3 Big FM (Blue Jays)
• Live Stream: MLB.tv
• MLB Betting Odds: TBA

The Blue Jays finally play their home opener on Tuesday. The team’s 10-game road trip to open things was necessary as renovations were being completed at Rogers Centre. By closing the gap between the bullpen and stands, the outfield walls appear significantly higher. The lower outfield decks have also been removed, with new ones built lower to the field.

Detroit was a terrible offensive team last year and not much has changed so far. It hasn’t helped that outfielder Austin Meadows was placed on the 10-day injured list with anxiety over the weekend. It’s not clear how long Meadows will be sidelined. Meadows’ 2022 season ended in September when he announced that he’d been dealing with anxiety and was seeking help. He came to camp in good spirits and good physical health. He’s played in six of the Tigers’ first seven games, with five hits in 21 at-bats. The 27-year-old was batting .238 (5-for-21) with two RBI.

Matt Manning gets the start on the mound for Detroit. Manning (1-0) allowed two runs on six hits across 5.2 innings to earn the win last Tuesday against the Astros. He walked two and struck out four. The righty once again dealt with injuries in 2022, though he showed some promise with a 3.43 ERA and 1.17 WHIP across 63 innings.

The Tigers’ pitching staff this year ranks 19th in MLB with a 10.1% walk rate and 12th with 50.1% of pitches thrown inside the strike zone. The relief pitchers, despite their struggles at times, have carried the weight in the strike-throwing department, with a 51.9% clip compared to the starting pitchers’ 48.3% mark. Tigers starters in all nine games have failed to provide a clean runway for the relievers. In every game, a fresh reliever has been called upon to take over for a laboring starter in the middle of an inning. Many times, it has happened because of too many walks.

The Jays will start ace Alek Manoah (1-0, 4.35). Manoah fired seven shutout innings last Wednesday in a win over the Royals. Manoah held KC without a hit until a fifth-inning single to right field by Jackie Bradley Jr. He tallied five strikeouts and also issued four walks, needing 98 pitches (61 strikes) to complete seven frames. Over two career meetings with the Tigers, he has gone 0-1 with a 4.63 ERA (6 ER/11.2 IP) next to a walk and 12 punchouts.

Toronto won five-of-seven games against Detroit last season, including winning three-of-four games at Rogers Centre.

MLB Betting Pick: Blue Rays

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