Thursday night will be an American League showdown as the Boston Red Sox (16-9) square off with the Texas Rangers (10-15). Texas will host this one at Globe Life Field, with the first pitch scheduled for 8:05 pm ET.
This will be the first game of a four-game series between two teams heading in very different directions.
For the Red Sox, they continue to play good baseball as they just finished sweeping the New York Mets in a short two-game series. At 16-9, they are currently leading the AL East by three games over the second-place Rays. They will look to keep playing well on the road, where they are currently 8-1.
For Texas, they have now lost five of their last six, including a 4-3 loss to the Angels on Wednesday. They currently sit dead last in the AL West, five games behind the first-place Athletics.
Despite playing on the road, the Red Sox are the favorites in this one. They are -124 to win while the Rangers’ moneyline sits at +106. The runline features Texas +1.5, and the over/under for total runs is nine.
Pitching Matchup
Boston will send lefty Martin Perez (0-1, 5.71 ERA) to the mound on Thursday. In his last outing, a 6-5 win over the Mariners, Perez did not even make it through four innings and gave up four hits, four walks, two runs, and struck out three. He will look to improve on that outing against the Rangers.
Speaking of Texas, they will counter with righty Kyle Gibson (2-0, 2.30 ERA). Gibson has been one of the few bright spots for the Rangers. In 27.1 innings, he has struck out 23 and has a 1.17 WHIP.
By The Numbers
Offensively, Boston has been one of the best teams in the majors. They currently rank third in runs per game at 5.04. The Rangers rank 22nd averaging four runs a game.
Defensively, it is once again the Red Sox who hold the advantage. They rank 12th in the majors in runs allowed per game at 4.17. The Rangers fall to 24th, allowing 4.75 runs per game.
Red Sox Out To Prove They Are For Real
Despite such a strong start to the season, the Red Sox still don’t have the best odds of winning their own division. While the Red Sox are +280, the Yankees still hold the better odds at -130. The Red Sox are out to prove they are still the team to beat.
Offensively, the Red Sox have been led by JD Martinez and Rafael Devers. The two have combined to hit 13 home runs and have a combined 40 runs batted in.
The nice thing for the Red Sox, though, is these two don’t have to do it alone. Xander Bogaerts (.348 average, three home runs, twelve runs batted in), Alex Verdugo (.313 average, three home runs, thirteen runs batted in), and Kike Hernandez (three home runs, sixteen runs scored) have all gotten into the action early on.
Bogaerts, in particular, is a name to watch in this one as he is hitting .353 against Gibson in 17 career at-bats.
Rangers Look For Bright Spots In Tough Season
At a +20000 odds to win the division, saying the Rangers are a long shot at winning the division might be an understatement. Still, even in a rebuilding year, the Rangers are looking for bright spots.
Kyle Gibson has been one of those bright spots. In his last start, he went six innings of one-run ball against the White Sox. In the outing, he allowed six hits, two walks, and struck out five.
On the offensive side, the Rangers have been led by second baseman Nick Solak. In 91 at-bats, Solak is hitting .319/.404/.582 with seven home runs, fourteen runs batted in, and eighteen runs scored. He leads the team in both runs scored and home runs.
Taking Texas On The Runline
Without a doubt, Boston is the better of the two teams in that matchup. Despite that, the pitching matchup favors Texas in this one. Gibson has been brilliant to start the season, and Perez has looked lost.
While the Red Sox may be the favorite, this is the type of game that the Rangers could steal at home. At very worst, betting the Rangers at +1.5 on the runline seems like a strong bet.
