Oakland Athletics vs Boston Red Sox Predictions, Betting Odds & Picks

• Whose offense will show up
• Oakland with the starting pitching advantage
• X-factors to watch for both teams

Oakland Athletics vs Boston Red Sox Odds

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Trends to Watch

• Oakland is 5-0 in last 5 road games vs a team with a winning record
• Oakland is 9-2 in last 11 vs team with a winning record
• Oakland is 10-3 in last 13 road games
• Oakland is 16-5 in last 21 coming off a win
• Oakland is 13-5 in last 18 Thursday game
• Under is 6-0 in last six Oakland road games
• Boston is 5-0 in last five games vs a left-handed starter
• Boston is 7-3 in last 10 vs team with a winning record
• Under is 4-0 in Boston’s last four games
• Under is 6-1 in Boston’s last seven games vs  AL West
• Under is 5-2 in Boston’s last seven games following a loss

Oakland Athletics vs Boston Red Sox Predictions and Picks

Boston comes into play having lost three in a row — each time failing to score more than two runs. That’s been rather frustrating, since its spotty pitching staff has actually been pretty decent during that stretch, holding opponents to four runs or fewer each night.

That’s not the mention, the Red Sox have been weirdly bad at home — they’re 10-11 in games at Fenway compared to 12-5 in games outside of Beantown. Oakland is kind of the same way when looking at its road dominance — the A’s are 10-4 in 14 games away from Oakland.

All of the trends are pointing to this game going under — except Red Sox starter. I think Oakland jumps on Richards early and cruises from there. We like the Athletics Money Line and the Over.

Picks:

Athletics Money Line (-103)

Over -9 (-109)

Garcia’s 2021 record: (18-10-1)

How to watch Oakland Athletics vs Boston Red Sox

Boston Offense Looks to Find Form Again While Oakland Tries to Stay Hot

No team in baseball has scored more runs this season than the Boston Red Sox. That’s why, despite shaky pitching and a division that’s loaded with the AL East favorite (Yankees), defending AL champions (Rays) and one of the trendy postseason sleeper picks coming into the year (Blue Jays) it’s Boston who is atop the standings as we reach the 1/4 mark of the season.

Xander Boegarts and J.D Martinez have been the two to power this attack all season. Boegarts is batting .333 with seven home runs, 20 RBIs, and a.956 OPS as he appears on pace for an All-Star appearance.

But it’s Martinez who ranks in the top 10 in baseball in most major offensive categories with a .328 batting average (7th), 10 home runs (T-2nd), 31 RBIs (1st), and 1.032 OPS (fifth). That said, he has cooled off significantly in May — with just one home run, seven RBIs and a .279 average in 11 games played.

Meanwhile, Oakland looks for the sweep on the opposite coast and will look for some offense to do it. The A’s have had the pitching in the first two games to get it done but soon the offense will need to perk up.

They will need Matt Chapman and Ramon Laureano to be the first to flip the switch if Oakland — who is currently in first in the AL West despite having a negative run differential — is actually going to threaten to win the Division title.

Chapman is hitting .217 with five home runs and a .718 OPS while Laureano is hitting .240 with seven home runs and a .788 OPS.

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Which Pitcher Will Be the One to Show Up

The A’s have their ace on the mound and seem to have the advantage in this one even going up against one of the most potent lineups in the game. Sean Manea has had a great beginning to his season — the kind Oakland always believed he could have. The 29-year-old is 3-1 with a 3.07 ERA, 1.07 WHIP and 43 strikeouts in 41 innings compared to just eight walks. It’s the best numbers he’s ever put up when making at least seven starts in a year.

On the flip side, Garret Richards hasn’t lived up to expectations since coming over from the Padres. The Red Sox newest pitcher is 2-2 with a 4.54 ERA and has constantly had to battle traffic on the basepaths with his 1.46 WHIP.

That said, he’s been able to go deep into games lately, going seven innings in two of his past three starts. However, overall, Boston is just 3-4 in games he started and 19-12 in the other 31 games. Not to mention, he played on the Angels for eight years, so the veteran knows what this Athletics lineup is capable of.

X-Factor on Each Side

We’ve already mentioned the guys who are hot for Boston and those who are cool for the A’s, but there’s a few different people we have our eye on in this game.

For Oakland, Matt Olsen has been the team’s most consistent hitter but comes off a bit of a cool week. He went 4-for-20 in the past seven days with one home run. The team’s biggest power threat isn’t going to hit multiple home runs every week, but a .400 slugging percentage leaves a lot to be desired from the middle of the order.

For Boston, we’re looking at Rafael Devers — one of the best third basemen in the game who has had a great season against right-handed pitching thus far. Devers is batting .274 with a .330 OBP against righties — but is hitting for a lot of power.

He has eight home runs and 23 RBIs in 95 plate appearances. His 60 total bases during that stretch is the second best mark on the team. He’s been much of the offense for Boston in this series — even as limited as it’s been — going 2-for-8 with a double and a home run.

If Boston wins this game, check back for Devers’ box score, because he would likely be a big reason why.