The Los Angeles Angels will wrap up the second leg—including a makeup game in Kansas City on Monday—of a four city road trip on Thursday with the final of a three-game series against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway. At seven games out of a wildcard spot in June, the Angels are a long shot for postseason play while the Sox are seemingly shoe-ins for October. Can the Angels make up ground with a win in the finale of this series mismatch? They have a solid pitching matchup with Jaime Barria on the hill against the knuckleballer Steven Wright.
First pitch for the game between the Angels and Red Sox is scheduled for Thursday, June 28, 2018, at 7:10 p.m. ET at Fenway Park. The matchup will be shown on ESPN.
You can bet on MLB odds at BookMaker.eu every day of the season.
Odds Analysis
Earlier this season, the Red Sox swept the Angels in Anaheim, outscoring them 27-3 in a three-game series. The sweep over Los Angeles came in the middle of April when the Angels were 13-3. The Angels have gone 28-35 since then and enter the series against the Red Sox in the midst of a three-game losing streak and 4-10 skid.
Boston, on the other hand, are just 4-5 in their last nine games, including a series loss to the Twins amidst series wins over the Mariners on either side of the Minnesota series. Perhaps, the Sox can overlook the lesser opposition at times. After all, they did lose a series to the White Sox earlier this month, too.
While the Angels are a better team than the Twins or White Sox, they remain seven games out of the second wildcard and on the fringes of competing in the American League. Since the middle of April, however, they’ve been a below-.500 club though they’re a better road team than they are at home. That could come into play in this series finale in Fenway.
Probable Pitchers
Steven Wright gets his fifth start of the season on Thursday as he continues to fill-in for Drew Pomeranz.
The 33-year old right-hander has had an up-and-down career. He was an All-Star two years ago, but save for that season has been yo-yoed in and out of the Boston rotation and up-and-down from the minors.
As is common for knuckleballers, Wright can be lights out in one game and extraordinarily hittable in the next. It all depends on how well he’s able to throw the knuckler on any given day.
In his last start, Wright was roughed up, giving up 10 runs in just 3.1 innings of work against the Mariners. He surrendered 10 hits, including three home runs. He wasn’t missing the zone so much as he was just leaving the ball up and not getting nearly as much movement as usual on the knuckler.
The bad start inflated his numbers, though a 3.38 ERA in 40 innings isn’t bad. Still, prior to that start, Wright had allowed just one runs in 20.2 innings over his first three starts of the season and sported a 1.23 ERA in 36.2 combined innings as a starter and reliever.
Wright will look for the knuckleball to flutter better—and sit lower in the zone—on Thursday as he faces an Angels team he’s struggled against in the past. He’s allowed 15 runs on 28 hits in 21.1 innings spread over four starts against them. That’s not encouraging. Neither is the fact his ERA at Fenway for his career is a full run higher than it has been on the road.
While he’s had several good starts this year, there are certainly reasons to be worried going into this game as a Red Sox fan. After all, Wright is pitching opposite a very talented young starter in Jaime Barria.
The 21-year old right-hander has been up and down some this year, but has a 5-3 record, 3.40 ERA and 1.212 WHIP in his 50.1 big league innings. He’s made 10 starts this year and though he’s only averaging five innings a start, those five frames have generally been quality.
Barria is coming off a one-run, five-inning start against the Blue Jays. The rookie threw well, but the bullpen eventually lost it as Los Angeles dropped Barria’s third straight start. His start prior to the one against the Jays came against the Diamondbacks and he struggled, allowing six runs in four innings.
Overall, the Angels are 5-5 when Barria takes the hill. He’s got stuff that translates to better consistent production than Wright, but he’s very young and not nearly as experienced as the 33-year old knuckler, making him just as much of a wildcard.
Live Betting
Mike Trout and Albert Pujols are a combined eight for 20 with a pair of home runs lifetime against Wright.
Over the past month, Trout and Pujols have combined to hit five homers. Pujols has been okay while Trout is hitting .387 with a 1.145 OPS as he continues to get better and better. To add to it, the Angels are also finally getting some production from Kole Calhoun.
The right-fielder had been epically terrible this year before going on the DL, but has come off and hit 7-for-22 in his first seven games with a pair of walks, two home runs and a double. So, along with Trout and a hot Justin Upton, who has hit a team high six homers and produced a .398 OBP in June, Calhoun has helped the Angels overcome some poor production from Andrelton Simmons, Zack Cozart, Luis Valbuena and Ian Kinsler—amongst others—this month.
Meanwhile, in the bullpen, Cam Bedrosian is throwing the ball exceptionally well. In June, he’s allowed one earned run in 12.1 innings, doing an excellent job setting up for Blake Parker.
The Red Sox’s bullpen has been chugging along, too. Joe Kelly’s hit a bit of a bump in the road, but Craig Kimbrel’s converted all four saves this month while Brandon Workman and Heath Hembree are pitching very well.
At the dish, the Red Sox have regressed a bit in June, but have still scored the second most runs in baseball behind the Astros while sporting the second best OPS at .780, just a few points behind the Yankees.
Mookie Betts and J.D. Martinez, of course, are still having epically strong seasons even as Betts has slowed a bit this month. Meanwhile, Andrew Benintendi has led the team with six homers in June to bring his season total to 13. Boston has five players with at least a dozen home runs, including 23 hit by Martinez who has also driven in 60 runs and boasts a .325 average as a legitimate Triple Crown threat.
MLB Pick
The Red Sox are 11-games better than the Angels in the standings and are the superior team. They’re playing this game at home, too, where the Sox have a clear advantage. All of that adds up to Boston getting the win.
While the Sox are likely to win the series, look for the Angels to try and steal a win on Thursday prior to Boston packing their bags and heading north to take on the Yankees. Alex Cora has done a good job keeping the Sox in the moment, but even for a mid-summer series, the matchup between the Sox and Yankees is a big one as the two battle it out for the AL East crown. It certainly is conceivable that Boston looks too far ahead.
In the end, unless Wright’s knuckleball is back to its mystical self, the right-hander is very hittable. Look for the Angels—namely Mike Trout—to take advantage of his mistakes. Los Angeles has done well against him in the past and while Barria won’t go deep in the game look for him to give the Angels five good innings before the bullpen does enough to close this one out.
MLB Odds: Angels 6, Red Sox 5
Load your betting bankroll from your smartphone with BookMaker’s new cashier feature! Depositing and withdrawing funds from your account has never been easier. BookMaker's live betting platform means you always have access to odds and lines to every sporting event. Click here and start wagering today!
