Boston Red Sox vs, Oakland Athletics Best Bets and Prediction
Monday features an American League battle between East and West as the Boston Red Sox (50-44) take on the Oakland Athletics (25-70).
This is a matchup of last-place teams. The Red Sox sit tied for fourth in the AL East, nine games back of the Tampa Bay Rays. The Athletics have the worst record in baseball and are 30.5 games behind the Texas Rangers in the AL West.
As you consider your MLB picks, read ahead to get an idea of the Red Sox vs Athletics best bets and a prediction for this contest.
Boston Red Sox vs Oakland Athletics
Location of the game: Oakland Coliseum, Oakland, CA.
Date & Time: Monday, July 17. 9:40 pm ET.
How to watch: MLB.TV
Whether you bet on esports or you bet on sports, it is always important to look at the trends and recent performances of the competition.
For the Red Sox, they come into this one having won eight of their last ten games. Including winning two of three against the Chicago Cubs over the weekend. In their most recent game, on Sunday, they won 11-5.
With that win, they are now 50-44 and tied with a New York Yankees roster that is scuffling a bit for last in the division. The Red Sox are hoping to continue making a push as they sit on the cusp of a Wild Card spot.
Oakland has not had nearly as much success as they have lost eight of their last ten games. They have lost seven games in a row and have been swept in back-to-back series by the Red Sox and the Twins. The Oakland Athletics record is the worst in baseball at 25-70. They are just 12-35 when playing at home.
As you examine the Red Sox vs Athletics best bets, it is important to keep an eye on the pitching matchup. Unfortunately, as of Sunday night, the Red Sox have not announced a starter for this one.
For the Athletics, they will turn to 29-year-old righty Paul Blackburn. In eight games, he is 1-1 with a 4.86 ERA, 1.54 WHIP and has struck out 41 in 37 games.
Offensively, the Red Sox rank fifth in the majors in scoring, averaging 4.98 runs per game. With that in mind, they are much better at home (5.60 runs) than they are on the road (4.31 runs).
Leading the offense is third baseman Rafael Devers. In 348 at bats, he is hitting .261/.330/.523 with 23 home runs, 73 runs batted in, and 53 runs scored.
For Oakland, they are dead last in scoring, averaging just 3.62 runs per game (3.35 at home). Rookie Brent Rooker is hitting just .244/.340/.477, but he leads the team in home runs (16) and runs batted in (44).
Before making a Red Sox vs. Athletics prediction, it is important to look at the MLB odds for this game.
Since the Red Sox have not announced a starter, the MLB odds for this contest have not been posted as of yet. Still, it is expected that the Red Sox will be the favorite in this one, given their recent success.
Even playing at home will not benefit the Athletics in the MLB odds. They will still likely be long shots, given their struggles both at home and on the road.
You probably won’t make a bet on entertainment as these two last-place teams square off, but that isn’t to say that there aren’t good betting opportunities in this one.
Identifying the Red Sox vs Athletics best bets, it would be smart to take the Red Sox to win and win big in this one. Even without knowing their pitcher yet, the Red Sox have been on an absolute roll lately, and Paul Blackburn isn’t the type of pitcher to slow that down. Take the Red Sox to win and cover the spread.
In our other pick, take the over on runs. The Athletics rank dead last in runs allowed (6.30 per game), and the Red Sox rank 20th (4.70 runs per game). Add in a spot starter for the Red Sox Monday, and this could be a high-scoring game.
Obviously, it is important to check in on the MLB odds once they get posted, but these are the Red Sox vs Athletics best bets heading into Monday’s opener.
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