Whenever you see a good team get off to a slow start, the general feeling is that it’s probably going to be nothing more than a minor blip that no-one will remember at the end of the season. The longer that poor start continues, though, the more difficult it becomes to imagine that good team finding a way out of the hole that they have dug for themselves.
This season, there are a couple of teams who fall into that slow start category, but perhaps none more surprising than the defending World Series champion Boston Red Sox, who are seeing their season get off to a bit of a nightmare start. They are coming off another series loss over the weekend, and while they still have plenty of time to right the ship, they are painting themselves into a very tight corner in the early going. They will start the new week at home to the Oakland A’s, another team in need of some wins to get things rolling. It is Boston who are in as the favorites at the MLB betting lines for the first game of this series on Monday night.
Athletics vs Red Sox MLB Odds & Prediction for Monday Night
J.D. Martinez returns to the lineup tonight against Oakland.@ParkWhiz pic.twitter.com/pycThquCZP
— Boston Red Sox (@RedSox) 29 de abril de 2019
- When: Monday, April 29 at 7 PM EST
- Where: Fenway Park, Boston
- Starting Pitchers: Montas vs Rodriguez
- TV: ESPN
- Radio: WEEI
- Live Stream: MLB.tv
- MLB Odds: Boston Red Sox -130 (Total 9)
How to Bet Astros vs Twins MLB Spread & Game Analysis
Why bet on the Oakland A’s?
It was always going to be a bit of a struggle for the A’s in the AL West given how good the Houston Astros are, but things look to be even tougher now that the Seattle Mariners are off to a great start. For their part, the A’s are still hanging in there, sitting 3 ½ games off the pace, albeit with a losing record of 14-16.
They fell below that .500 mark over the weekend when they lost 3 consecutive games to the Toronto Blue Jays, a sweep that was all the more disappointing given that they had just come off a sweep of the Texas Rangers. As it stands now, the A’s are now just 4-8 in road games, which means they need to get their act together on the road if they hope to stay in touch with the leaders. It will be Frankie Montas (4-1, 3.10 ERA) who starts this one.
Team Stats
Offense- Runs: 4.67
- Hits: 8.17
- Walks: 3.33
- Strike Outs: 7.07
Defense
- Runs: 4.77
- Hits: 8.53
- Walks: 3.30
- Strike Outs: 8.00
Why bet on the Boston Red Sox?
What is going on with the Boston Red Sox? The world champions appear to be experiencing a bit of a World Series hangover, but it’s one that is lasting a good deal longer than we expected. They had a glorious opportunity to make up ground in the AL East over the weekend, but they ended up losing both games to the Tampa Bay Rays, which means they are now 5 ½ games out of the lead.
Playing at home has not proven to be particularly advantageous to the Red Sox, as they are just 5-7 at Fenway this season. They are also just 4-8 ATS in games that they started as a home favorite. They will send Eduardo Rodriguez (2-2, 5.88 ERA) to the mound for this one.
Team Stats
Offense- Runs: 4.77
- Hits: 8.53
- Walks: 3.30
- Strike Outs: 8.00
Defense
- Runs: 5.57
- Hits: 8.61
- Walks: 3.79
- Strike Outs: 9.46
Top MLB Betting Picks of the Week – April 29th
Athletics vs Red Sox MLB Betting Trends
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- Oakland is 7-2 SU in their last 9 games against Boston
- The total has gone OVER in 12 of Oakland’s last 18 games
- Boston is 12-4 SU in their last 16 games when playing at home against Oakland
- The total has gone OVER in 11 of Boston’s last 14 games against an opponent in the American League West division
Expert Pick & Final Score Prediction for Athletics vs Red Sox
This is a series that you would ordinarily expect the Red Sox to win, but they look very poor right now. Given how Montas has pitched for the A’s, I think that Oakland have a real opportunity to come up with the win on Monday night.
Score: Oakland A’s 5 – Boston Red Sox 4
