Written By: The Persian
The Baltimore Orioles hit the road to tangle against the Boston Red Sox for the first of a huge three-game series starting Monday night inside famed Fenway Park in Boston, MA. They toss out the first pitch at 7:10 pm. Baltimore comes into this series on a little slide.
Bookmaker has installed the Orioles +105 in the opener.
The Orioles come into this series limping a bit, having dropped three of four games overall, but they are in great position to secure a playoff spot. They are a half-game out of first place behind the New York Yankees in the AL East.
They are one of the most balanced and complete teams in the majors, and this season, they feel they have the horses to make a deep run into the postseason. If their offense stays hot, they can score a ton of runs. On offense, Gunnar Henderson is one of their stars and most reliable players, who have put up some monster numbers this season.
He was an early AL MVP candidate but faded a little for a month. However, he has put up some great stats: He has slugged 36 home runs, 85 runs batted in, and a batting average of .282. The Orioles as a team have slugged 211 home runs this season while collecting a team batting average of .251.
They will hand the ball over to 24-year-old hurler Cade Povich, who has a rough record of 2-7 on the season and an ERA of 5.76. He has allowed 41 runs in 59.1 innings of work.
The Red Sox will be on the outside looking in when October rolls around, but they can still hurt the Oriole's chances of winning the division if they can get some wins here. They have played hard and sometimes had to overcome some very inconsistent play by their offense.
They have won two of three overall.
They have hit 175 but have had a hard time playing small ball and manufacturing runs all season long. Their hitters need to be patient in this one, and against Povich, they might have an opportunity to put up some runs and get ahead of him early in the opener. Look for Red Sox hitters to be more aggressive at the plate.
They will hand the ball over to Brayan Bello, who has had some good moments this season on the mound. He is 2-2 in his last four starts and has an overall record of 12-7, along with an ERA of 4.75. He has fanned 135 in 142 innings of work for Boston, with a team ERA of 4.17.
The Red Sox are 2-3 in their last five games and 2-3 in their last five games against the spread. They also have a mark of 38-33 in their road contests against the number, and the totals have gone over in three out of their last five games.
The Orioles are 3-2 in their last five games and 3-2 in their last five games against the spread. They are also a solid 39-30 in their road games against the spread, and the totals have gone over in three out of their last five games.
