With their lead in the AL East starting to dwindle, the Boston Red Sox begin a three-game series on Friday night against the Los Angeles Angels. At home, the Red Sox are favored with a moneyline of -125, while the Angels have a moneyline of +105. There is also an over/under of nine runs.
With a win over Oakland on Thursday, the Red Sox were able to snap a three-game losing streak and avoid getting swept by the AL West leaders. Luckily for the Red Sox, they had won four in a row before that three-game ski, making them 6-4 over their last 10 games. However, Boston’s lead in the AL East is down to just 1.5 games.
Meanwhile, the Angels find themselves at the bottom of the AL West standings. After taking two out of three games from their LA rivals last weekend, the Angels dropped a series to the Astros earlier this week. The Halos are just 4-8 in the month of May, dropping them four games under .500 after finishing April 12-12.
The Griffin Flies
Griffin Canning will get the start on Friday as he looks to get his season on track. The 25-year-old has had highs and lows this year, going 3-2 with a 5.19 ERA. The good news is that after two troubling starts at the end of April, May has brought success for Canning, who has yielded just one earned run on nine hits over his last 10.2 innings.
Of course, Canning will have to face the highest-scoring team in baseball on Friday. The Red Sox busted out of a mini-slump on Thursday with eight runs and have a middle of the order led by J.D. Martinez and Xander Bogaerts that would make any pitcher fearful. In addition to Martinez and Bogaerts, both Hunter Renfroe and Bobby Dalbec are coming on strong to give Boston’s lineup even more depth.
Little Nicky
On Friday, the Red Sox will give a start to Nick Pivetta, who has been the team’s ace through the first six weeks of the season. Over his first seven starts of the season, Pivetta is 5-0 with a 3.19 ERA. He’s been as consistent as possible and combined with Boston’s potent offense, the Red Sox are 6-1 in games that he’s started.
In fairness, the Angels are also one of the highest-scoring teams in the American League behind their trio of Mike Trout, Shohei Ohtani, and Jared Walsh. The issue for the Halos is that Anthony Rendon is on the IL, and the bottom of their lineup has been unreliable this season. Phil Gosselin has hit a little in Rendon’s absence, and outfielder Taylor Ward has two home runs in his last six games, but the Angels are otherwise dependent on Trout, Ohtani, and Walsh to carry them.
Holding Serve
It’s worth noting that the Red Sox are only 11-11 at Fenway Park this season. Despite that modest home record, Boston has the deeper lineup and the better starting pitcher in this matchup. Play it safe and bet on the Red Sox to beat the Angels on Friday.
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