The Red Sox and Astros are looking to shake out of their early-season doldrums when the two American League favorites conclude their three-game series on Sunday in primetime. Houston entered the weekend with the worst record in the AL while the Sox entered below .500.
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ODDS ANALYSIS
After back-to-back last place finishes in the AL East, the Red Sox answered with prized off-season acquisitions David Price and Craig Kimbrel. For $217 million and four minor leaguers, the Sox signed a proven ace and traded for one of the game’s most dominant closers. Between them, Price and Kimbrel would represent the starter and closer who would make the difference.
Things haven’t gone according to the Sox plan. Price put up a couple of duds on a just completed 10-game homestand and Kimbrel has looked downright hittable. It’s no coincidence then that the Sox went 4-6 against three division opponents and staggered their way to Houston with a below .500 record. One poor homestand is hardly a reason for Sox fans to bail on the team’s marquee additions. In the long run, they are likely to make the Sox a better team than a worse one.
PROBABLE PITCHERS
The Red Sox will fill Joe Kelly’s spot in the rotation from a trio of lefties at Triple-A Pawtucket, all of whom have Major League experience. Henry Owens, Roenis Elias and Brian Johnson are the men competing to start on Sunday and beyond as Kelly recovers from a shoulder injury.
Manager John Farrell will meet with the team’s player development department and Pawtucket manager Kevin Boles over the coming days before making a decision. “We feel like we’ve got guys with Major League-quality appearances under their belt and are ready to step in,” Farrell said.
The Astros haven’t won a game in which Scott Feldman (0-2, 4.11 ERA) started, going 0-3 this year and 0-5 dating back to his final two starts of 2015. His best outing of the season came on Apr. 13 when he didn’t allow an earned run over 6.1 innings against the Royals, but his throwing error proved costly.
Feldman allowed four runs – three earned – on six hits and three walks over five innings in Tuesday’s loss to Texas. He did induce 12 ground balls, but had difficulty missing bats as only four of his 96 pitches resulted in a swing and miss.
LIVE BETTING
Everybody knows Astros second baseman Jose Altuve can put the bat on the baseball. Everyone also knows what kind of an impact he can make with his speed. And he’s even developed into a Gold Glove defender.
But a power hitter? Altuve’s early-season power surge has caught even him by surprise, but he hopes it’s a part of his game that’s here to stay. Altuve entered the weekend with five home runs, which was second-most in the AL behind Josh Donaldson’s six. He didn’t hit his fifth homer last year until May 15 on his way to a career-high 15. Altuve knows it’s unlikely he’ll be among the league’s home run leaders at the end of the season, but seeing him with more dingers than Jose Bautista, Mike Trout and David Ortiz is an eye opener.
QUICK PICK
Whoever the Red Sox run out to the hill for the MLB series finale is going to be in for a helluva time. The Astros haven’t had a lot of success in the win-loss column early in the year, but the offense is still formidable and can make the game tough on a first timer.
Houston has yet to hit its stride this season, assuming they have a stride and last year wasn’t a fluke. It wasn’t. The Stros have been building for this for several years, enduring three straight 100-loss seasons in the process. There is plenty of pressure on them after the breakout in 2015 and this club will respond. No better way than on the national stage.
MLB Odds: Houston 6, Boston 4
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