MLB Best Bets: Rays' season-opening win streak to end Wednesday?

The Rays are unstoppable. Tampa Bay is 11-0 to start the season after beating Boston, 7-2, on Tuesday, and as we mentioned earlier in the week, only suckers bet against the Rays. 

But as the great poet and handicapper Geoffrey Chaucer once said, “All good things must come to an end.” We don't know if Ol' Geoff ever opened a season on an 11-0 heater, but he's certainly right in this case. 

Tampa officially set the record for the longest season-opening winning streak in MLB’s wild card era on Monday, and now the question is whether or not the Rays break the all-time record of 13 straight wins to begin a season, a mark shared by the 1982 Atlanta Braves and 1987 Milwaukee Brewers.  

As much as we hate to be the bearer of bad news, we see the Rays' winning streak ending on Wednesday. OK, we know. First, we tell you only suckers bet against the Rays, and now here we are, advising you to do just that. That's because we’re here to help you make money.

With Tampa Bay calling up top prospect Taj Bradley to make his MLB debut against Boston on Wednesday, we’re concerned it might be a rough debut for the 22-year-old. Don’t get us wrong, we’re high on Bradley. But to be thrown in against an offense like Boston’s and to oppose an All-Star and maybe even a future Hall of Famer in Chris Sale, well, that’s a lot to ask.

Even if Bradley struggles, Tampa Bay is more than capable of rallying late. The Rays have the best pitching in baseball and lead the majors in home runs. And it’s not like Sale (11.25 ERA in two starts this season) or the Red Sox defense (second-most fielding errors in baseball) has been good so far this season. But Sale looked a lot better in his last start and has enjoyed success against the Rays in his career: 10-6 with a 2.82 ERA in 23 appearances. 

That scares us, and we’ve got a feeling Sale keeps the Rays in check on Wednesday while Bradley struggles. So, despite Tampa Bay being rightfully favored on the moneyline (-120), we’re taking the Red Sox (+100) as road 'dogs.

We haven’t bet against the Rays once this year and we’ve been wrong our fair share of times, but even with Tampa Bay rolling, we’re going with Boston.  

**odds via DraftKings**