The case for
Tampa Bay Rays
1.
Rasmussen's 3.00 ERA matches his 3.05 xERA perfectly, showing his results are sustainable with elite 64:12 K:BB command over 66 innings.
2.
Tampa Bay's offense sits at .718 OPS with 4.53 runs per game, giving Rasmussen adequate run support in most starts.
3.
The Rays took 2 of 3 from Boston in their recent series, including a 6-0 shutout win in their last meeting.
The case for
Boston Red Sox
1.
Bennett's 4.35 ERA severely understates his problems with a 5.60 xERA and awful 1.45 WHIP showing he's been getting lucky on contact quality.
2.
Boston's offense manages just 3.89 runs per game with a weak .687 OPS, giving Bennett little margin for error in his limited 10.1 innings of work.
3.
The Red Sox are 1-4 in their last 5 games and got outscored badly by Tampa Bay in their recent series.