Boston Red Sox Tickets - Opening Day vs. the Rays

The Red Sox open up the 2009 regular season at home playing (guess who?) the Tampa Bay Rays, who you might remember from the seven-game ALCS last year. As you well know, Boston got bumped from going to the World Series by the Rays, and the Rays will be the first team they see when they awaken from spring training, fresh and ready for the long regular season. Needless to say Boston-Tampa Bay at Fenway on April 6th is an opening day game for which you ought to race online to get tickets. Let's look at the matchup before you rush off to buy Boston Red Sox tickets to see the game go down.

Pitcher's Duel:
Both the Red Sox and the Rays were elite pitching teams last season, and they're expected to look similar once again this year. Opening day's matchup at this point looks like Josh Beckett vs. James Shields. Beckett, coming off a somewhat down season last year amid some injuries, has been slow in rehabbing in spring training, so there are some doubts as to how good he'll be right out of the gates. He still gets the edge over Shields, though only slightly in light of Beckett's recovery. Closer Jonathan Papelbon, who saved 41 games and remained one of the best closers in baseball in 2008, will be back again, and relievers like Javier Lopez and Hideki Okajima will step in to relieve Beckett. The Rays bullpen relievers were great last year, with highlights that include J.P. Howell, who had a breakout season (2.22 ERA), and veteran Grant Balfour (1.54 ERA). Troy Percival is the closer for the Rays, but he's coming off a down year. Boston has the slight edge in pitching.

Batter's Battle:
The Red Sox were one of the best offensive teams in the American League in 2008, and they kept their batting order pretty much the same as it was at the end of last season. Dustin Pedroia won the AL MVP Award, a Gold Glove and was a Silver Slugger. Youkilis led the team with 29 home runs and a .569 slugging percentage. Jason Bay earned his keep and then some, as he connected for 54 hits in 49 games, averaged .293 and slugged .527 while in Boston. But the Rays aren't so bad at the plate either, as they return pretty much the exact same batting lineup, complete with Evan Longoria and Dioner Navarro, who were All-Stars in'08. The Rays were above average in terms of power, but they were as patient as they come, ending with the second most walks in the AL. But who has the edge? We're going to call this one slightly in favor of the Rays. The Red Sox look stronger on paper, but the Rays were so much better offensively in the ALCS last year, you can't deny them the edge here. Tampa Bay recorded 42 earned runs in the ALCS, compared to Boston's 26.

Projected Outcome:
Herding cats and betting on baseball scores are two things we do not recommended, but we'll give a prediction anyways. Boston will win 3-1. Although the Rays proved they could beat the Red Sox in a seven game series with home field advantage, this one's going to be played at Fenway on opening day. The BoSox always swing better at home, so we're going with Boston in this one.

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