The Cincinnati Reds (25-29) and Boston Red Sox (28-26) will engage in the second of a three-game interleague battle Wednesday night. The Red Sox will host this one at Fenway Park, with first pitch scheduled for 7:10 pm ET.
The Reds were able to take the opening game 9-8 Tuesday night. In the win, Jose Barrero hit a grand slam in the seventh inning. In the loss, both Raimel Tapia and Masataka Yoshida had three hits.
The Red Sox are the favorite playing at home on Wednesday. The Red Sox are -174 to win, while the Reds’ moneyline sits at +146. The runline features Cincinnati +1.5 (-120), and the over/under for total runs is 10.5.
Reds Look To Move Closer To .500 On The Road
At 25-29, it hasn’t been a fantastic season for the Cincinnati Reds. Still, they sit in third in the NL Central, just three games back of the division-leading Milwaukee Brewers. The Reds will aim to improve on the road Wednesday, where they are just 11-15 to this point.
Taking the ball for Cincinnati in this one is 29-year-old righty, Luke Weaver. In seven games this season, he is 1-2 with a 5.45 ERA, 1.37 WHIP, and he has 37 strikeouts in 38 innings. Weaver was strong in his last start, throwing 6.1 scoreless innings against the St. Louis Cardinals.
Offensively, the Reds rank 16th in the majors in scoring, averaging 4.57 runs per game. First baseman Spencer Steer has led the team in home runs with seven, while also hitting .288/.353/.485.
Jake Fraley has also had a decent start to the season, hitting .252/.341/.404 with five home runs and a team-leading 35 runs batted in.
Red Sox Trying To Survive In Brutal AL East
If the Boston Red Sox played in the AL Central, their 28-26 record would be the best record in the division. In the AL West, it would put them in third. Unfortunately for Red Sox fans, the team sits in last in a loaded AL East, 9.5 games out of first.
While the division is brutal, the Red Sox will try to continue to stay competitive. Luckily, they have played better at home (15-12) than on the road (13-14).
Veteran lefty James Paxton will be making his fourth start in this one. In his first three games, he is 1-1 with a 5.14 ERA, 1.36 WHIP, and he has struck out 19 in 14 innings. He will look to bounce back from a rough start last time out, when he gave up five earned runs over three innings to the Angels.
Third baseman Rafael Devers is off to another strong start. The perennial All-Star is hitting .246/.286/.498 with a team-leading 13 home runs and 46 runs batted in. His success is one of the reasons why the Red Sox rank fourth in scoring, averaging 5.15 runs per game (six at home).
Take Boston To Win
Looking at the trends, the Reds are 5-1 in their last six games, but they are 3-11 in their last 14 against the Red Sox. The OVER has hit in all of the Reds’ last five road games.
As for Boston, they are just 2-6 in their last eight games. They are also 1-5 in their last six against NL Central teams. In terms of the over/under, the UNDER has hit in seven of their last eight games against the Reds.
This one is a tough one to call. While the Reds have more momentum right now, the pitching edge has to go slightly to the Red Sox with James Paxton on the mound.
Expect Boston to bounce back in this one and even up the three-game series. Take Boston to win straight up at -174.
