Red Sox look to extend dominance over A’s
With a season series sweep in sight, the Red Sox can’t wait to spring back into action against the A’s.
John Farrell’s team will shoot for its sixth consecutive victory over Oakland this afternoon, with a 4:05 p.m. ET first pitch on the West Coast. Online sports book BetDSI gives Boston odds of -126 to make that happen. Bob Melvin’s troops, on the other hand, are regarded as +116 underdogs. The over/under run total sits at 8.5.
If there’s any optimism for the hosts, it revolves around the man on the hill. Kendall Graveman is 9-3 with a 3.36 ERA in his past 17 starts, essentially becoming the de-facto ace in place of the injured Sonny Gray. He’s only faced the Red Sox on two occasions, taking a no-decision each time.
The visitors respond with Eduardo Rodriguez, who’s trying to gain some traction in a vexing season. Rodriguez missed the first 51 contests of 2016 due to a knee injury. Since returning to the rotation, however, he’s also fought through a hamstring issue ad general ineffectiveness. Most recently, the lefty allowed five runs over 5 1/3 innings in a loss to the Royals.
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We fully understand that Boston has outscored the Athletics 67-19 this year. Yet Graveman’s primed to do a fine job of at least containing David Ortiz and the rest of the gang. The same can’t necessarily be said of Rodriguez, even though Oakland’s lineup admittedly leaves much to be desired.
SUNDAY MLB FREE PICK: A’S +1.5