Tampa Bay will face Boston in the first game of the ALDS

Updated Oct. 7, 2021 3:20 a.m. ET

Associated Press

Boston Red Sox (92-70, second in the AL East) vs. Tampa Bay Rays (100-62, first in the AL East)

St. Petersburg, Florida; Thursday, 8:07 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Red Sox: Eduardo Rodriguez (0-0, 4.74 ERA, 1.39 WHIP, 185 strikeouts) Rays: Shane McClanahan (0-0, 3.36 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, 141 strikeouts)

LINE: Rays -161, Red Sox +140; over/under is 8 runs

BOTTOM LINE: Shane McClanahan and Tampa Bay will play Boston in Game 1 of the ALDS.

The Rays were 52-29 on their home turf in 2021.

The Red Sox went 43-38 in road games in 2021. Boston has a team slugging percentage of .536 this postseason, Alex Verdugo leads them with a mark of .750 in 4 at-bats.

TOP PERFORMERS: Brandon Lowe leads the Rays with 39 home runs and is batting .247.

Rafael Devers leads the Red Sox with 77 extra base hits and is batting .281.

LAST 10 GAMES: Rays: 7-3, .274 batting average, 1.95 ERA, outscored opponents by 34 runs

Red Sox: 5-5, .255 batting average, 4.40 ERA, outscored opponents by three runs

INJURIES: Rays: Ryan Thompson: (shoulder), Jeffrey Springs: (knee), Chaz Roe: (shoulder), Cody Reed: (thumb), Colin Poche: (elbow), DJ Johnson: (shoulder), Tyler Glasnow: (elbow), Oliver Drake: (forearm), Adam Conley: (covid-19), Yonny Chirinos: (elbow), Jalen Beeks: (elbow), Chris Archer: (hip), Nick Anderson: (back).

Red Sox: Phillips Valdez: (covid-19), Danny Santana: (covid-19).

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.