The Red Sox sit in first place in the AL East at 18-13. Friday Boston is in Baltimore and will send comeback pitcher of the year (so far) lefty Eduardo Rodriguez (4-0) out to face the Orioles RHP Matt Harvey (3-1). This one will be a low scoring affair until these teams get to the bullpens. By the 9th, Boston will have scored enough to earn the win. Take Boston to win
On Wednesday John Means threw a no-hitter in Seattle for the Orioles in a 6-0 win. Means isn’t pitching in this game, I just like talking about no hitters, it was the 3rd no-no in the bigs this season. On to the business at hand; Friday the Orioles start a 4 game home stand against their AL East opponent the Red Sox which will wrap up Monday. For the visiting Red Sox and manager Ron Roenicke, they turn to lefty Eduardo Rodriguez who in 5 starts in 2021 and 28 IP, leads Boston starters with a 1.04 WHIP. Rodriguez has 4 wins in 2021 and a 4.18 ERA. On the road Rodriguez is 2-1 and has a win already this year in Baltimore, on April 8 he pitched 5 innings and yielded 3 ER in a 7-3 victory. Rodriquez has had good control and has only walked 3 batters in so far in ‘21. With Chris Sale still on the team’s IR (elbow) Rodriquez is a welcome addition back to the Boston rotation. You may remember Rodriquez was a COVID19 casualty as he developed myocarditis resulting from the virus and missed the entire 2020 season. The Boston faithful must feel good about him being back and healthy with the ballclub and also about his start to the 2021 season. At the plate Boston continues to crush the ball, and NJ online sports betting fans should know that as a team The Red Sox lead MLB in BA .263 and slugging % at .443. Boston hitters are 2nd in runs with 154 and 3rd in OBP at .328. The team’s battery is still led by LF J.D Martinez who is hitting .349 with 10 HR, 29 RBI and a .437 OBP. If Roenicke goes to the bullpen his staff has a 1.27 WHIP and a 3.73 ERA. Boston closer Matt Barnes has a 0.53 WHIP and a 2.12 ERA and in 16 appearances Barnes has 7 saves. Year after year Baltimore has its work cut out for it and this season is no different. The O’s are only one game under .500 at 15-16 but they are in last in the always competitive AL East. Friday Orioles manager Brandon Hyde will send right hander Matt Harvey out to face off against the Boston sluggers. Harvey has a 3-1 record in 6 games with a 4.06 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP. If Hyde has to go to his pen, the Orioles bullpen staff has a solid 1.20 WHIP and the league’s 6th best ERA at 3.35. The Baltimore hitters don’t deserve much mention as a team, the Orioles rank in the bottom 3rd of most of the important offensive statistical categories in MLB, CF Cedric Mullins leads the O’s with an OBP of .378, a .320 BA and 39 hits on the season. Right Fielder Trey Mancini leads the club with 25 RBI. If the Orioles are going to make a push at the postseason in 2021 this 4 game home series is the perfect opportunity to set the tone. But, with Boston sending out Rodriguez and the Boston bats on fire lately I like Boston (take note: if you’re looking how to bet on MLB in NJ the Red Sox have scored 28 runs in their last 3 games). I think Rodriguez will hold down the Orioles offense in an early pitchers duel and so I expect a low scoring game. By the 9th I think the Boston hitters will be able to bang out enough runs to secure a win, so bet Boston to win.
