Boston lost 10 games in a row for the first time in the last two decades and as a result, the Red Sox are sitting in the last place in the division. They have a wide gap to close before the end of the regular season and unless they find a way to rebound quickly, the World Series will probably evade them. The NY Yankees are six points ahead of them, but it is not only the archrivals that Boston needs to worry about.
Toronto is in great form and winning the vast majority of games in May, while Tampa Bay and Baltimore are two teams clearly on the mend. An unfortunate combination of mediocre pitching and insufficient runs production, brought the Red Sox to their knees. On the bright side, they won on the road and scored eight runs against Atlanta, a team that is not exactly in top shape either.
This should provide the visitors with a chance to win the first series this month and also back-to-back games in the process. In order to do so, they will need Jon Lester to pitch the same way he did a couple of years ago, while Dustin Pedroia and David Ortiz are also expected to come out firing. The two sluggers did a great job in the opening game of the series and kept the team alive long enough, for the Braves to commit an irreparable string of errors.
Scoring one more run than the opponent used to be the favorite strategy for the Red Sox, who have a remarkable offensive lineup. Recent results were disappointing to say the least, but Atlanta looks like the perfect opponent to return to their winning ways. The hosts have their own pitching problems and Aaron Harang is no longer the dominant pitcher that could carry the team through the rough spots.
He played 10 games so far and earned a decision, with just four of them being winning ones and his earned run average is 3.32. The numbers themselves are not too bad, but the starting pitcher will have a hard time limiting Boston to three runs or less tonight. Once the Red Sox start scoring home runs they are hard to stop in their tracks and the Braves don’t have too many players capable of outshooting them.
It comes as no surprise that bookmakers are reluctant to give either team favorite status and as a result both of them receive odds of 1.90. Value is definitely with the visiting team, but punters should also consider a bet on more than seven runs to be scored. This wager is priced at exactly the same value in the upside is that if the two teams score exactly 7 runs, the states will be returned.