Tuesday night features the first of a quick two-game interleague series as the Miami Marlins (45-34) take on the Boston Red Sox (40-39). The Red Sox will host this one at Fenway Park, with first pitch scheduled for 7:10 pm ET.
The Red Sox are the slight favorite in this one playing at home. They are -112 to win, while the Marlins’ moneyline sits at -104. The runline features Boston +1.5 (-182), and the over/under for total runs is 9.5.
Miami Trying To Keep Pace In NL East
At 45-34, the Miami Marlins have been one of the surprise stories of the year thus far. Currently second in the NL East, six games behind the Atlanta Braves, the Marlins will look to keep pace by improving on their road record, which sits at 20-18.
The Marlins will send reigning NL Cy Young award winner Sandy Alcantara to the mound for the opener. It has been a rough encore to his award-winning season last year, as he is just 2-6 with a 5.08 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, and he has 78 strikeouts in 95.2 innings. In his last two starts, he has given up 10 runs on 20 hits in 12.1 innings of work.
Miami ranks 10th in scoring defense this season. They are allowing 4.19 runs per game, with an average of 4.47 runs allowed on the road.
Offensively, the Marlins rank 26th in the majors, averaging four runs per game. Leading the offense has been designated hitter Jorge Soler. In 271 at bats, he is hitting .247/.345/.524 with 21 home runs, 45 runs batted in, and 41 runs scored.
Red Sox Trying To Overcome Brutal Division
Despite sitting a game over .500, the Boston Red Sox still have the worst record in a loaded AL East. Currently 13 games back of first, the Red Sox are trying to stay strong at home, where they are 21-18 this year.
The Red Sox currently rank seventh in the majors in scoring, averaging 4.99 runs per game. They have been even better at home, though, averaging 5.87 runs per game at Fenway Park.
Third baseman Rafael Devers continues to lead the offense. In 290 at bats, he is hitting .241/.312/.486 with a team-leading 18 home runs and 60 runs batted in. He has also scored 42 runs, third-most on the team.
On the mound for the Red Sox Tuesday will be 27-year-old righty Garrett Whitlock. In eight games, he is 4-2 with a 4.50 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, and he has 39 strikeouts in 46 innings. Whitlock is looking to bounce back from his last start, where he gave up four earned runs over seven innings in a no-decision against the Twins.
Take The Red Sox To Win At Home
Looking at the trends, the Marlins are 8-3 in their last 11 games and 4-1 in their last five road games. Stemming to previous seasons, though, they are winless in their last 10 at Fenway Park.
For the Red Sox, they are 1-4 in their last five games, but they are 4-1 in their last five home games. In five of their last six games against the Marlins, the UNDER has hit.
If Sandy Alcantara was pitching like he did last year, this would be an easy choice to make. Unfortunately, his inconsistency has brought concerns to both Marlins’ fans and bettors.
With back-to-back rough starts by Alcantara, it is questionable if this is the game he will be able to bounce back for. For that reason, take Boston to win straight up (-112).
