Baltimore at Boston Baseball Betting Preview & Pick

It’s two of the best offensive teams in the American League opening a series on Tuesday in Boston as the Baltimore Orioles make their first visit of the season to Fenway Park. Both clubs were playoff teams in 2016. I believe Boston will be again but not the Birds. The Sox should be slight baseball betting favorites here.

Baltimore at Boston Baseball Betting Preview & Pick

RECAP: #Orioles suffer first loss of the season, drop series finale 7-3 vs Yankees. https://t.co/zCeljCQOxj pic.twitter.com/RosFNlI13h

— Baltimore Orioles (@Orioles) April 9, 2017

When: Tuesday, April 11, 7:10 PM ET Where: Fenway Park, Boston Probable pitchers (away/home): Dylan Bundy/Drew Pomeranz TV: MLB Extra Innings Stream: MLB.tv Radio: Baltimore / Boston Opening MLB Lines: TBA

Why Bet On Baltimore?

The Orioles opened the season with four straight wins, all at home, but lost their series finale vs. the Yankees on Sunday, 7-3. Aaron Judge hit a tying home run, Starlin Castro’s RBI single keyed a four-run ninth inning and the Yankees rallied to avert a three-game sweep. The Orioles started the day as the only unbeaten team in the majors at 4-0. After pulling off comeback victories in the first two games of the series, Baltimore blew a three-run lead in the finale. With Zach Britton and Brad Brach unavailable after pitching each of the previous two games, the five relievers summoned by manager Buck Showalter yielded seven runs and nine hits. Darren O’Day was pounded for four earned runs in the ninth inning. The Birds are without outfielder Joey Rickard. He was placed on the 10-day DL with a sprained left middle finger. The injury occurred Saturday when Rickard slid into 2B on an attempted steal. It’s rising star right-hander Dylan Bundy on the mound for Baltimore. Bundy (1-0) allowed only one run on four hits while striking out eight over seven innings in Wednesday’s 3-1 win over the Blue Jays. The 24-year- old was outstanding in his 2017 debut, throwing 69 of 99 pitches for strikes and stifling a normally potent Toronto offense. Bundy, who struck out eight, was a pleasant surprise for the Orioles last year and was moved to the rotation out of need. He went 10-6 with a 4.02 ERA in 36 games (14 starts) overall, providing much optimism about what was to come when he became a full-time starter this season. “This was Dylan for his first seven or eight starts for us. When we brought him in after the All-Star break, it wasn’t a whole lot different than what you saw tonight,” Orioles manager Buck Showalter said after Wednesday’s game. “He’s featuring a little different look, a little different shape on some pitches that he didn’t last year. Another example of being able to take some of the governors off him.”

Why Bet On Boston?

The Sox concluded a four-game set in Detroit on Monday trying to get the split. Hanley Ramirez (flu) remained out of the lineup Monday. Ramirez hasn’t played since Wednesday due to a nasty case of the flu going through Boston’s clubhouse. Pablo Sandoval was the designated hitter on Monday while Brock Holt played third base. All-Star shortstop Xander Bogaerts was not in Monday’s lineup. He was expected to be back in there after returning from the bereavement list. It’s not clear if Jackie Bradley will play Monday or Tuesday as he’s dealing with a knee injury. It’s Drew Pomeranz on the mound for Boston. The lefty will come off the disabled list to open his first full season with the Red Sox. Pomeranz is coming back from a left forearm injury that he pitched through last season. Pomeranz was 0-2 with a 6.43 ERA at Fenway last year. The Red Sox adjusted their rotation for the weekend series against the Tigers due to Thursday’s rainout, which allowed them to give Pomeranz some extra time before his season debut. Pomeranz will get the nod at home against an Orioles team that teed him up for five runs over two innings in his lone start against them last season. Pomeranz went 3-5 with a 4.59 ERA in 14 games (13 starts) for the Red Sox in 2016. He dealt with forearm tightness late in the season but was able to pitch through it. After the season, Pomeranz received the stem-cell injection to relieve his discomfort; the procedure is an alternative to the platelet-rich plasma injection that is more commonly administered to pitchers. Pomeranz described the procedure as “pretty painful.”

Baltimore at Boston Baseball Betting Pick: Baltimore Orioles

Bundy is one of my dark-horse Cy Young candidates this season. He’s that good. Go Birds here.