The Red Sox continue a three game series with the Diamondbacks in Arizona on Saturday night in hopes of continuing to bolster its Wild Card standing.
Boston is going to need to get more contributions from the back of the starting rotation, and it'll be a stiff test for righty Garrett Whitlock, who faces an elite Diamondbacks offense. However, the same can be said for Zach Davies, who is facing the Red Sox lineup that has raked against righties all year.
How should we bet this one? Here are the odds for Saturday night's matchup:
Red Sox vs. Diamondbacks odds, run line and total
Red Sox vs. Diamondbacks prediction and pick
Both offenses are set for big outings, each are top five in OPS against right handers this season and each starter have struggled a ton thus far.
First is Whitlock, who has a 6.19 ERA with a very low strikeout rate, about six per nine innings while allowing about 11 hits per nine innings. The D-Backs are a team that is constantly putting the ball in play and pressure on the opposing pitcher, Arizona is top five in limiting its strikeouts. If Whitlock can't blow the ball past hitters, this can be a short outing for him and a poor stat line.
However, the Red Sox offense should hold up nicely against the veteran Davies. The righty has only made two starts this season before hitting the injured list, but the early returns were poor, allowing six earned runs in about nine innings and walking six batters to seven strikeouts.
Maybe Davies bounces back after the IL stint, but this is a tough first matchup for him against a Boston lineup that is elite at getting the ball in play and generating run scoring chances. If Davies is limited at all, this game can become a high scoring affair as Arizon has the 10th highest bullpen ERA.
I'm staying off the side here and will eye the over as my favorite play on Saturday.
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.