The Boston Red Sox will travel to Motown to face the Detroit Tigers in a weekend series at Comerica Park, beginning with Friday’s opener. Neither team is playing particularly well, as the Red Sox have won just four of their last 10, and Detroit has won just two of their last 10 games. There is no moneyline on this game at the current time.
Tigers Trying to Find Their Way
As stated earlier, the Tigers have lost eight of their last 10 games, including two of three from the Toronto Blue Jays. They sit at 28-54, 24 games behind American League Central division leader Minnesota. There is not much to say when a team has a run differential of -149. The pitching has been bad, to say the least. The Tigers have a team ERA of 4.89, which is ninth in the American League. Couple that with a team batting average of .232, and you get a run differential that is off the charts.
The Tigers will send lefty Gregory Soto to the mound to kick things off against the Red Sox. Soto is 0-2 with an 8.44 ERA. He has struck out 15 hitters in 21 1/3 innings pitched. In his last outing, Soto lasted 3 2/3 innings and allowed three runs.
Miguel Cabrera leads the Tigers in hitting, posting a .303 batting average to this point. He only has five home runs and 36 RBI, not posing near the long-ball threat that he once did. Leftfielder Brandon Dixon has hit 11 home runs for a team that is last in batting average, home runs, RBI, and runs scored.
Red Sox Not Giving Up on Season
The Boston Red Sox come into play with a 46-41 record, 11 games behind the division-leading New York Yankees in the American League East division. The Red Sox have lost six of their last 10 games and are spinning their tires at the moment. The saving grace for the Sox is that they are just 2.5 games behind Cleveland for the second Wild Card spot in the American League.
They will send lefty Eduardo Rodriguez to the mound to open the series. Rodriguez is 8-4 on the season with a 4.79 ERA. He has struck out 102 hitters in 97 2/3 innings pitched. In his last start Saturday in London against the Yankees, Rodriguez allowed two runs on four hits over 5 1/3 innings in a no-decision.
Third baseman Rafael Devers leads Boston’s offense, hitting .331 with an OBP of .382. Designated hitter JD Martinez is hitting .302 with 18 home runs and 48 RBI, while shortstop Xander Bogaerts is hitting .295 with 16 home runs and 59 RBI.
Prediction Time
Boston’s away record of 26-19 is significantly better than Detroit’s home record of 12-29. Therefore, take Boston in this one.
