The St. Louis Cardinals and Boston Red Sox haven’t crossed paths on the diamond in interleague play since 2017; that comes to an end this weekend when the teams collide in Beantown. Both teams enter the series white hot with the Redbirds logging wins at online sportsbooks in five of their last six games, while the BoSox have come out triumphant in 10 of their last 12 to remain competitive in the ultra-competitive AL East. Unfortunately for both teams, injuries have wreaked havoc within the rotations so the starting pitching matchups would never be mistaken for must-see TV. That’s once again the case in the middle of this three-game set with Dakota Hudson looking to bounce back from a horrific start last time out and Kutter Crawford set to make his second start after being forced out of the pen due to injuries. That means some fireworks could be in the offing early on, and that’s the train of thought I’ll take with the expectation a high scorer ultimately plays out in front of a nationally televised audience.
First pitch for the interleague showdown between the St. Louis Cardinals and Boston Red Sox is scheduled for Saturday, June 18, 2022. Take it in live on FOX at 7:15 p.m. ET from Fenway Park. Bet on MLB odds and player props at BookMaker.eu every day of the season.
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Odds Analysis
Since getting swept by the Rays in their most recent series played against an AL opponent at the beginning of last week, the Cardinals have been playing with their hair on fire. They took two of three from the Reds and followed it up by taking the first three against the Buccos to take the NL Central lead away from the Milwaukee Brewers. Sitting 10 games clear of the .500 mark, St. Louis is up nearly $500 overall for MLB bettors but has shown a penchant for playing mediocre baseball on the road 16-15, $28. Since stinking the joint up the first five weeks of the season, the Red Sox continue to be one of the hottest teams the league currently has to offer. Even so, it still sits 12.5-games in back of the front running Yankees. After digging such a huge hole early on, Boston is finally back in the black for its wagering supporters $33 after taking Tuesday night’s series opener from the A’s. The win moved them to 14-14 as a host -$335.
Probable Pitchers
Dakota Hudson R: You never know what you’re going to get whenever the right-hander trots out to the bump. He could give you seven innings of 1 ER ball with 6 K, or he can get sent to the showers early after failing to make it out of the second inning. After conceding one or less earned runs in his prior three starts against the Brewers, Padres, and Rays, he most recently served up nine hits and 6 ER with a 2:2 K/BB ratio against the Reds. Absolutely nothing positive about this cat jumps off the page. Negatively however, it’s a different story. His 4.21 FIP is higher than his 3.29 ERA and he’s issuing 3.7 BB/9 while only averaging 4.9 strikeouts. With Boston averaging 4.5 runs per game against righties, this figures to be a tough spot for the 27-year old.
Kutter Crawford R: The righty showed well in his first start out of the pen tossing five innings of shutout ball against the Mariners with seven strikeouts. That being said, he issued four free passes and was lucky to not have a single one of them count against his earned run average. On top of that, none of his off-speed stuff was working. He was able to get by with his fastball and cutter against a weak hitting Seattle club, but the chore at hand figures to be much tougher with Paul Goldschmidt and Co. ranked No. 6 in runs scored per game and team batting average. Along with that, St. Louis has gone 28-21 $480 and averaged 4.7 runs per game when stepping up to the dish to oppose right-handed pitching. I’d be shocked if he sees the fourth in this one!
Cardinals vs. Red Sox Prediction
With Adam Wainwright set to square off against a rejuvenated Michael Wacha in the series opener Friday night, both offenses could come into this one chomping at the bit after being held in check. A Hudson/Crawford matchup should do the trick of getting both offenses back on track. Hudson’s failed to pitch through the fourth in half of his six road starts, and Fenway likely won’t allow him to build off that fabulous outing against Tampa Bay in his most recent road outing. As for Crawford, I’m not bullish in him being long for this one. As such, I’ll be hitting the over for the first five innings as well as the full game and expect the power bats to eat from the first inning forward. Feel free to back all the big names in the prop markets and enjoy the show!
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