Do Rockies have any hope of upending BoSox?
Jackie Bradley Jr. and other top sluggers garner the most headlines in Beantown these days. As for Steven Wright, he’s just content to keep flummoxing opposing batters with a quietly deadly arsenal.
Boston’s newest knuckleballer aims to stifle Colorado tonight, with a 7:10 p.m. ET first pitch at Fenway Park. Oddsmakers at online sports book Bovada.lv give John Farrell’s club odds of -185 to take the middle contest of the series. The Rockies, meanwhile, enter as +165 underdogs.
Wright (3-4, 2.52 ERA) doesn’t possess the gaudiest numbers, but he’s been exceedingly dependable. The 31-year-old worked eight innings in last week’s tough loss at Kansas City. Only once has he permitted more than three runs in an outing.
The offense then tends to take care of the rest. With Bradley immersed in one of the longest hitting streaks in franchise history and David Ortiz continuing to defy Father Time, the Red Sox (28-17) boast the majors’ No. 1 attack. Dustin Pedroia and Xander Bogaerts play instrumental roles, too, providing Farrell with one lethal threat after another.
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Despite an impressive cast that features Nolan Arenado, Carlos Gonzalez and Charlie Blackmon, Colorado (21-23) currently can’t keep up with the sticks. Since May 19, the Rockies hold a collective average of .229. They’ve dropped five of those affairs, totaling a mere 19 runs in the process.
Asking Chad Bettis (4-2, 4.18) to hold Bradley and the rest of the crew in check is simply impractical, so look for Walt Weiss’ gang to lose its 25th game over the past 30 at AL ballparks. Really, the lone question pertains to Hanley Ramirez’s health. Irrespective of the first baseman’s toe ailment, though, Boston clearly remains strong from top to bottom.
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