There are a lot of good teams in the American League and while the Boston Red Sox and LA Angels didn’t project to be at the top of the league they are hanging in there with those teams. The Red Sox have won four of five to get to 26-21 and continue their west coast swing with three games in Anaheim against the 25-23 Angels. Boston is fourth in the AL East and LA is third in the West.
These two teams will kick off their series tonight and the Red Sox will give the start to Tanner Houck and the Angels will go with Jaime Barria. Houck is 3-3 in eight starts with a 5.48 ERA and Barria is 1-1 with a 1.96 ERA in 10 outings, but this will be his first start of the season.
Let’s take a look at the odds for the Angels and the Red Sox in Anaheim.
Red Sox vs. Angels odds, run line and total
Red Sox vs. Angels prediction and pick
Boston is crushing the ball this month and they are fifth in OPS while only hitting the 14th most home runs. They are second in the league in doubles in May with 43. That charge has been led by Alex Verdugo who has nine this month and has an .843 OPS. Rafael Devers and Masataka Yoshida both have five and Jarren Duran and Justin Turner have four apiece. Boston has a very well rounded lineup and that is how they’ve been able to go 5-3 in eight Houck starts this year.
Houck has a 5.48 ERA, but a 4.09 FIP, so he’s getting help from his teammates at the plate, but not quite in the field. May has been especially bad for Houck. He has given up 13 runs in 16.2 innings with 14 strikeouts to five walks.
Barria on the other hand is making his first start for the Angels after having a lot of success out of the bullpen. For his career he has a 4.03 ERA as a starter compared to a 3.86 ERA out of the bullpen and the first inning is his particular issue. Barria has allowed a .911 OPS to opponents in the first inning for his career, and he has a 5.88 ERA in the first frame.
Barria has been good this year, but there’s a reason he’s in the bullpen and that’s the reason I’m betting the YRFI in this game and taking the over.
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Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change