The Boston Red Sox are about to take on a hellacious cast of opponents over the next four series which should help aid MLB bettors in deciphering whether Alex Cora’s squad is a legit contender or a pretender that’s largely been faking it to make it. The first of those challengers will be a Houston Astros team online sportsbooks currently have pegged as the sixth choice to cash in on the World Series futures odds behind the Dodgers, Yankees, Padres, White Sox and Mets. This Memorial Day clash will mark the first time these franchises will have crossed paths in just over two years! Righty Garrett Richards will toe the bump for the visitors in the series opener while the Astros will counter with a righty of their own in Luis Garcia who’s filled in admirably due to a number of injuries incurred within the starting rotation. Boston’s owned the recent rivalry in taking six of the last 10 overall meetings with the under cashing in each of the last seven.
First pitch for this Memorial Day matchup between the Boston Red Sox and Houston Astros is scheduled for Monday, May 31, 2021, at 4 p.m. ET from Minute Maid Park. The matchup will air live on ESPN. Bet on MLB odds and player props at BookMaker.eu every day of the season.
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Odds Analysis
Boston will enter the weekend interleague series with the Miami Marlins 10 games over .500 and up just over $900 for MLB bettors. The output finds them situated in second place within the crowded AL East a single game in back of the front running Tampa Bay Rays and a half-game ahead of the hated New York Yankees. Most trivial about the overall record is that most of the damage has been done away from the comforts of Fenway Park. The Red Sox are a .500 team at home -$151, but up nearly $1K for baseball bettors on the road in winning 16 of 23 games. The Astros also find themselves in second place within the AL West one game in back of the Oakland A’s and 4.5 games ahead of the Seattle Mariners. But with linemakers expecting Dusty Baker’s squad to be one of the best in the game heading into the season, the 27-22 overall record finds the club $42 in the red for its wagering supporters. Unlike Boston, Houston has thrived at home 16-10, $61 as opposed to the road 11-12, -$103.
Probable Pitchers
Garrett Richards: The veteran right-hander saw his personal three-game win streak come to a close last time out at home against Atlanta. Richards also saw his quality start streak of two straight also go by the board after coming an out short of qualifying after conceding 6 hits and 3 ER with a 4:4 K/BB ratio over 5.2 innings. Stat wise, there’s nothing foretelling of dark times ahead; save for a nasty upcoming schedule that includes this bout with the Astros. Richards is the owner of a 3.83 ERA and 3.86 FIP. That said, he could be getting lucky and pay for it now evidenced by allowing 9.2 hits, tallying 7.8 strikeouts and issuing 4.3 walks per nine innings. He’ll be up against it in this one with the Astros ranked No. 9 overall against right-handed pitching.
Luis Garcia: The righty has been a godsend for an Astros starting rotation that’s been without the services of Justin Verlander, Framber Valdez, Jake Odorizzi and now most recently, Lance McCullers Jr. He’ll enter his eighth start of the campaign with a head of steam fresh off tossing a season-high six innings against the Dodgers and limiting them to just two hits and no ER with a 7:1 K/BB ratio. His 1.8 home run and 3.4 walks per nine innings bothered me heading into that start, but the righty persevered to end up tossing the gem. Boston will however prove to be another stiff test with it ranked No. 5 in batting average and No. 3 in OPS against right-handed pitching. It would be extremely surprising if at least one didn’t leave the yard in this one.
Red Sox vs. Astros Prediction
Though Cora is undoubtedly in the running for the AL Manager of the Year Award taking a last place team from a year ago and getting them out to a hot start, I’m not 100 percent sold on the Red Sox being a viable World Series contender. Boston’s schedule has been extremely kind through the first seven-plus weeks with it getting to beat up on Baltimore numerous times, facing the Mets and Twins when they were ice cold along with the Mariners, Tigers and Rangers. Its best series win to date occurred in Dunedin where it took two of three by outslugging the Blue Jays. While recent injuries to Michael Brantley and Yordan Alvarez are concerning, I still believe Houston is the much better and more proven of these two teams. With that, I’m going to ride the feel-good story that has been Luis Garcia another round and see if he can’t help lead the Astros to yet another victory. Houston’s cashed in for MLB bettors in each of his last three turns, so I’ll gladly ride the streak!
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