Red Sox shoot for another win over Royals
With its stalwart second baseman leading the way, Boston broke out of an ill-timed funk last night. What will Dustin Pedroia do for an encore?
This evening’s national television audience stands to find out beginning at 8:08 p.m. ET, when the Red Sox host the Royals in the finale of the teams’ three-game set. Handicappers at online sports book Bovada.lv favor John Farrell’s squad, while the visitors check in as +134 underdogs. The over/under total holds steady at nine.
Pedroia’s 4-for-5 effort in the middle match helped Boston snap a three-game skid. The former American League MVP has reached base in 18 consecutive affairs. In fact, he’s hitting at a .458 clip since moving to the leadoff spot on Aug. 10.
Eduardo Rodriguez would love nothing more than to see the middle infielder muster another huge outing in a few hours. The lefty returns to Farrell’s rotation after missing a turn due to hamstring tightness. Rodriguez has endured an injury-riddled campaign, but his plus velocity (60 strikeouts across 68 2/3 innings) consistently makes him a tough hurler to barrel up.
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Kansas City skipper Ned Yost counters with Yordano Ventura, who seems to be finally realizing his vast potential. The righty is 3-0 with a 2.03 ERA in six assignments in August. Most recently, the 25-year-old fired six scoreless frames against the Marlins.
We respect the fact that Ventura’s working much deeper into contests at present. Even so, the Red Sox come at opposing throwers in waves. They’ll test the ace-in-waiting’s mettle in every way imaginable. Bank on a high-scoring nightcap.
SUNDAY MLB FREE PICK: ROYALS/RED SOX OVER 9 RUNS