The Boston Red Sox are four games over .500 in the 2023 season, yet they are in last place in the extremely competitive American League East division heading into Friday’s matchup with the San Diego Padres.
San Diego has gotten off to a slow start this season, sitting four games below .500 and losing eight of its last 10 games to fall to fourth in the NL West.
Blake Snell (1-5, 4.61 ERA) gets the ball for the Padres on Friday night against Red Sox lefty James Paxton (0-0, 3.60 ERA).
This is Paxton’s second start of the 2023 season, and he was solid against St. Louis in his season debut last week.
Here’s a look at the odds and my best bet for the Red Sox-Padres matchup:
Red Sox vs. Padres odds, run line and total
Red Sox vs. Padres prediction and pick
I love Boston to pick up a win on the road in this game.
The Padres are just 1-7 in Snell’s eight starts this season, and the former Cy Young Award winner has allowed at least two runs in every single start this season.
Boston’s offense has been strong in 2023, especially against right-handed pitching. The Sox are 10th in the league in OPS against southpaws.
We don’t have much to go off of with Paxton since he’s made just one start, but he allowed just two runs and four hits in five innings against a red-hot St. Louis team.
The Padres have struggled as of late, and they don’t have an edge in the pitching in this game. I’ll trust the Red Sox offense to get to Snell for a road win on Friday.
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.