MLB Picks and Predictions:
Houston Astros vs. Boston Red Sox
Friday May 17, 2019 7:10 PM EDT @ Fenway Park, Boston, MA
The Boston Red Sox after enduring a difficult and actually the worst start in the history of the game for a team that has won the world series the year before started to play better recently and this game against the Astros will be an early peak towards a matchup that might be crucial later in the year. The Astros started out great this year which was expected considering they are one of the most talented teams in the league roster-wide with great pitchers as well as fielding players.
Many consider these teams to be the major favorites to be in the ALCS this season simply because of the talent they possess. These early games will provide an insight into a matchup that won’t be played much during the regular season but will be the most anticipated match in the postseason if anything goes wrong. In this match, we will see two great pitchers who haven’t been playing all the great so far but as the MLB is becoming more and more hitter-friendly pitchers can only do so much. Rick Porcello vs Gerrit Colle.
Runline Performance
Boston Red Sox Form
The Boston Red Sox are finally playing the way many expected them too. After all, they did win the World series in quite convincing fashion so when they started the year by losing a bunch of games many were shocked. But baseball is a forgiving game especially if you have a bad start and considering you play 150 games a year there is plenty of time to make up for a bad start and the Red Sox are doing just that. In the meantime they got a positive record, the Pitchers are pitching much better, the team is hitting much better proven by the fact they easily swept the Mariners scoring over 10 runs twice. The did lose against the Rockies but that is nothing to worry about.
Houston Astros Form
The Astros entered the season with a very talented roster despite the fact that they didn’t re-sign Dallas Keuchel whose actually still a free agent. Many expected them to go deep this year and many even predicted them to win the World Series this year. The way they started this year is promising but this isn’t much different from last years and last year they didn’t win. Ownership and players accepted blame and promised to return with more drive and passion and they are proving it.
They are being led by great pitching headlined by Justin Verlander and also by George Springer who is at this time tied with League MVP Christian Yelich for 16 home runs along with 39 RBI’s which is surprising. Nobody expected such production from him and it shows as the Astros won all five of their last games allowing never allowing more than 4 runs in a game which absolutely amazing. They will be missing Jose Altuve in this one which is a thing worth remembering.
Astros – Red Sox Past Meetings
These two teams never played each other this year so it’s kind of hard to predict how they are going to match up but last year this teams played 7 times during the regular season and Houston won that series with 4-3. Generally, each them played well at home and struggled on the opponent’s home ground especially since Fenway Park is notorious as a cold place the play later in the year especially during the postseason.
In the ALCS these two matched up just like many predict they will again. Boston won the series quite easily 4-1 with the two wins in Houston being especially impressive. The series was featured by pitchers struggling as hitters thrived and many games ended up being a rather high scoring for postseason standards.
Astros – Red Sox Prediction and Pick
When it comes to the prediction you have to give it to the Astros especially under these circumstances. They are on a ridiculous streak winning against everybody with solid pitching and exceptional hitting. Fenway Park can be a friendly hitters park and at this time in the year is a good place to play because it’s not too hot nor too humid to play making it ideal for baseball at this time of the year.
The game is going to be played at night so chilly wind might occur making it more difficult to hit the ball out of the park. Both pitchers are good pitchers but have been struggling mightily especially Porcello against good hitters. He has almost a 6 ERA which is not good at all so the Astros and Gerrit Cole should take advantage of it. Considering how hot both teams have been one should expect this to be a high scoring affair so run lines of over 9,5 should be pursued by the brave.
Moneyline Astors Total Over 9.5