The Boston Red Sox will travel to Philadelphia to take on the Phillies on Tuesday night. This should be a very competitive interleague series, as both teams are leading their divisions. The Red Sox enter this series riding a four-game win streak after sweeping the Baltimore Orioles.
The Red Sox continue to have the best record in baseball and have a whopping 9.5 game lead in the American League East. The Phillies are in a tight race with the Atlanta Braves in the National League East and are tied entering Tuesday. Boston comes into this game -146 against the Philadelphia Phillies.
Red Sox On Cruise Control
The Boston Red Sox are 50 games over the .500 mark with an 85-35 record. The Red Sox have won 10 of their last 11 ball games, including a four-game sweep over the New York Yankees last weekend. It looks as though Boston will cruise to an American League East title, and should get some rest before beginning the 2018 playoffs.
Mookie Betts and J.D. Martinez continue to lead the Red Sox offense and are battling each other for the AL Most Valuable Player Award. Martinez blasted his league-leading 37th home run over the weekend and leads the team with 104 runs batted in. Mookie Betts has his batting average up to .350 while getting on base at a .438 clip. The Red Sox lead Major League Baseball in total runs scored thanks to the efforts of those two players.
Phillies Need Pivetta On Tuesday Night
The Philadelphia Phillies have gotten great work from their starting rotation this season, with the exception of Nick Pivetta. Pivetta will make the start for the Phillies on Tuesday and faces a tough challenge. The right-hander is just 7-9 with a 4.51 earned run average through 23 starts this season. He will need to be sharp on Tuesday or it could be a short outing for the young righty.
Philadelphia doesn’t score a ton of runs despite playing in one of the best hitters ballparks in all of baseball. They rank in the bottom third of MLB in total runs scored, and second to last in team batting average. Rhys Hoskins has been the one constant source of offense for Philly this season. He has hit 22 homers and driven in 72 runs to pace the Phillies attack.
Boston Wins Fifth Straight
The Phillies are having a nice season in their own right, but they aren’t on the same level as Boston. Philadelphia will need to break out on offense if they are going to keep up with the Red Sox in this game. Pivetta has had an up and down 2018 season, and it might not be pretty for him on Tuesday.
The Red Sox offense will love hitting at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. Look for the sluggers to bomb their way to a fifth straight win by defeating the Phillies on Tuesday night. Bet the Red Sox -146 in this game.
