American League foes will make acquaintances for the first time in 2022 when the Boston Red Sox pay a visit to the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Field Friday evening.
The host Rangers have come out on top of seven of their last 10, including a 3-1 triumph over Kansas City in the Lone Star State Thursday. Pitcher Taylor Hearn threw five frames of one-hit ball, and third baseman Brad Miller went 2-for-3 with a home run in the win.
Texas sports a 13-17 record at the moment and idles in fourth place in the AL West. They fell to Atlanta on Wednesday in their most recent outing.
Boston, on the other hand, is reeling. The Red Sox, who are 11-20, have dropped six of seven. Disappointed with their start out of the gate, they’re looking up at the other four teams in the AL East.
Shortstop Xander Bogaerts has been the main bright spot for the team from Beantown, hitting for a .345 average — one of the best in the major leagues. He also leads his group with a .397 on-base percentage and 40 knocks.
Over the last week, third baseman Rafael Devers has caught fire, recording ten hits in 23 plate appearances. He’s belted a team-high five dingers.
Red Sox at Rangers Odds
MLB odds have the Red Sox as slight favorites in this matchup between teams who have been average at best. Boston is -1.5 on the run line at +188, while the Rangers are -230 to cover the spread.
On the money line, the Red Sox are -102 and Texas -116. The total has been set at 8.5 runs, with the over being -110 and the under the same at the time of this writing.
These clubs are pretty evenly matched in terms of how they’ve done both in the batter’s box and on the mound. One reason that Boston might be favored is because of how dreadful the Rangers’ bats have been — their leading hitter, first baseman Nathaniel Lowe, has a .243 average.
But that’s almost not convincing enough to take the Red Sox. They themselves have a .229 batting average as a collective and have had only 107 runs come across. Their staff of hurlers has put up a 3.77 ERA.
This all makes these MLB betting picks interesting until you see who’s on the rubber.
Matchup Information
Red Sox at Rangers Betting Preview
The home team will trot out third-year righty Dane Dunning, who has turned in a 3.38 ERA and 1-1 record to this point. Last time out, at the New York Yankees, he had an impressive showing, giving up only two hits and one run in six frames of work. His run support failed him as his team lost, 2-1.
Texas has won three of his five starts.
Boston will put Nick Pivetta on the hill. To put it lightly, he has not had a good start to his campaign. He has a 6.08 ERA and is 0-4 in a half-dozen starts. The Red Sox have lost each of those outings.
Red Sox at Rangers Betting Predictions
It’s a wonder how the oddsmakers are giving Boston such an even chance to come out on the right side of this one. With the underperforming Pivetta across from them, Texas hitters should be able to get something going here.
Especially if Dunning gets in a zone much like the one he was in against the Yanks, don’t expect the Red Sox to buck recent trends.
It doesn’t matter that the Rangers have the third-least hits in the bigs up until now. Right fielder Adolis Garcia, shortstop Corey Seager, and Miller have all blasted four or more long balls this season. Expect them to carry big sticks as the team continues its hot streak.
This should be one of the more predictable MLB expert picks. Get to betting on baseball and take the host Rangers to win outright and cover the spread.
If you love sports and want more sports betting information follow us as @InsidersBetDig on Twitter and sign up to our mailing list for free betting picks.