The World Series hangover has lingered long enough and now it’s time to be concerned about the Boston Red Sox, who continue to struggle both at the plate and on the mound. There have been signs that the Sox are about to turn the corner, like their sweep of the first-place Tampa Bay Rays a week ago. But that was followed by two straight losses to the Tigers, further infuriating fans over the inconsistent start.
The Oakland Athletics contributed to Boston’s sluggish start by taking three of four when the clubs met in the Bay Area at the beginning of this month. The teams conclude their season series Monday in the opener of a three-game set.
This MLB game between the Oakland Athletics and Boston Red Sox will be held at Fenway Park in Boston, Mass., at 7 p.m. ET on Monday, April 29, 2019. The game will be nationally televised on ESPN.
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Odds Analysis
The A’s scored 18 runs in the four-games earlier this season, hanging losses on David Price and Chris Sale. Oakland got stellar pitching in the series with a pair of shutouts behind starters Aaron Brooks and Mike Fiers. Monday’s scheduled starter Frankie Montas didn’t pitch in that series, but he’s been Oakland’s most reliable starter through the first month.
Win some, lose more. That’s been the motto of the Sox through the first month of the season. We keep waiting for this stacked team to break out and they just haven’t done that. They’re hitting below .240 as a team and the staff ERA is an unsightly 5.44, which explains a lot about their position at this juncture.
Probable Pitchers
With a number of pitchers on the shelf with injuries, the A’s got a gift when Frankie Montas (4-1, 3.10 ERA) earned a spot in the rotation with a solid spring. He’s emerged as the team’s top hurler to start the season. Adding a splitter to go along with a 97-mph fastball and slider has helped Montas have a breakout start to the year.
Montas is tied for second in the Majors with four wins and has not allowed more than three earned runs in any of his five starts. He allowed just three hits and one run with six punchouts in 6.1 frames two starts ago to snap Houston’s 10-game winning streak.
An expected strength of the Sox was starting pitching, but the staff owns a collective 5.91 ERA and Eduardo Rodriguez (2-2, 5.88 ERA) has been a part of the problem. Things could be turning around for the lefty after allowing just two hits and one earned with seven strikeouts to beat Detroit in his last outing.
Rodriguez said a mechanical change on his breaking ball added more movement and he broke out the new pitch against Detroit with solid results. He’ll attempt to tame the A‘s, who cuffed him around for six earned on eight hits in 3.2 innings earlier this month.
Key Stat
It would behoove Montas and the rest of the Oakland pitching staff to limit base runners ahead of throwing to J.D. Martinez. The Sox haven’t been as potent at the plate as they were last season with a number of their big guns struggling. Martinez isn’t one of those players.
The power numbers aren’t there early in the season, but Martinez continues to hit for average with a team-best .340 heading into the weekend. And he’s been lethal with men on base, boasting a .389 average with 10 RBIs. Put those runners in scoring position and Martinez is even better with a .450 average and nine driven in.
Free MLB ATS Picks
The Sox are too talented to be near the bottom of the AL East standings and I do expect things to turn around for them. Rodriguez saw a change in his results with a minor tweak to his delivery and the hitters will start making adjustments as well. They need to get to Montas early before the back of the A’s bullpen becomes a factor and I expect a big night from their star players as they close out a homestand and look to gain some momentum as we head into the month of May.
MLB Pick: Boston Red Sox 6, Oakland Athletics 2
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