Red Sox vs. Rays Tuesday MLB odds, props: Chris Sale set at 4.5 strikeouts in return to majors, Rafael Devers expected back in lineup

The All-Star break is coming at a good time for the Boston Red Sox as they have four starting pitchers on the injured list: Chris Sale, Nathan Eovaldi, Michael Wacha and Rich Hill. The lefty Sale, formerly an annual contender for the AL Cy Young, will be activated and make his season debut tonight at the Tampa Bay Rays. Sale is given an Over/Under of 4.5 strikeouts at Caesars Sportsbook and will have a pitch count of around 85.

Sale last pitched in Game 5 of the 2021 ALCS vs. Houston and made just nine regular-season starts last year coming off Tommy John surgery, going 5-1 with a 3.16 ERA. A stress fracture in his right ribcage sustained in winter workouts delayed this season and then Sale had an additional delay due to what he and the team described as a personal medical issue.

The Sox gave him a $145 million extension in March 2019 when Sale was still at the top of his game. At an average of $30 million a season, he has made about $3.3 million per MLB start since that deal kicked in at the start of the 2020 campaign. In his final rehab start last Wednesday at Triple-A Worcester, Sale threw 72 pitches over 3.2 innings and walked five. Sale's fastball reached a high of 95 mph.

Sale was so perturbed with the walks -- it marked the first time he issued five or more free passes in an outing at any level since May 19, 2019, with the Red Sox against the Astros -- that he was recorded tearing down wall art and breaking a clubhouse TV, which of course went viral. He paid to have everything replaced. Sale described his actions as a "seven-year-old temper tantrum" to reporters.

"That's their problem for videoing it," Sale said of the incident. "If you want me to act like a normal person, treat me like a normal person. This isn't like, a normal atmosphere. If I was at Bank of America, that wouldn't fly, but this isn't Bank of America."

Sale made four minor-league rehabilitation starts overall, allowing three earned runs in 11 1/3 innings and striking out 19. The seven-time All-Star is 10-6 with a 2.93 ERA and 188 strikeouts in 132.1 career innings vs. Tampa Bay. He's from that area, having grown up in nearby Lakeland, Fla. He started Game 2 of the 2021 ALDS at Tropicana Field and allowed five runs in one inning – yet Boston still won 14-6.  

How banged up is the Red Sox rotation? They have started a rookie on the mound for five straight games. It's the longest such stretch for the Sox since they handed the ball to rookies for the final four games of the 1945 season.

The Rays counter with two-time Cy Young winner Corey Kluber – still surprising Sale never won the award, but he finished in the top six in each of his All-Star seasons – on the bump. Kluber (4-5, 3.62 ERA) is 1-1 with a 3.27 ERA in 11.0 innings this year against Boston.

The Sox are expecting All-Star third baseman Rafael Devers back in the lineup. He has missed the past three games with back discomfort. Devers is hitting .327 with 19 homers and 51 RBIs. Boston went 2-1 without him, scoring at least five runs in each game. Devers is 1-for-6 career with a solo shot off Kluber and +290 to homer tonight at Caesars. Those are the shortest odds of any player in this matchup. 

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