Thursday, May 18, 2017

O.co Coliseum

Get todays MLB odds and lines on this game.

Probable Pitchers: Hector Velazquez vs. Sonny Gray

The Boston Red Sox visit O.co Coliseum on Thursday, May 18, 2017 to play the Oakland Athletics. The probable starters are Hector Velazquez for the Red Sox and Sonny Gray for the Athletics.

The opening line for this matchup has Boston at -115 and Oakland at +104. The Red Sox have a 17-19-2 over/under record and a 19-19-0 run line mark. The Athletics are 19-20-0 against the run line and have a 22-17-0 over/under record.

Valuable Boston Red Sox Betting Trends

The Boston Red Sox are 17-19-2 against the over/under

The Boston Red Sox are 19-19-0 against the run line

Important Oakland Athletics Betting Trends

The Oakland Athletics are 22-17-0 against the over/under

The Oakland Athletics are 19-20-0 against the run line

Key Boston Red Sox Injuries

05/16/17 1B Hanley Ramirez Trapezius "?" Wednesday vs. St. Louis Cardinals
05/15/17 P Drew Pomeranz Tricep "?" for next scheduled start
05/06/17 P Tyler Thornbur Shoulder 60-day DL (4/1)
05/04/17 SS Marco Hernandez Shoulder 10-day DL (5/3)
05/01/17 P Steven Wright Knee 10-day DL (4/30)
04/25/17 3B Pablo Sandoval Knee 10-day DL (4/24)
04/21/17 LF Brock Holt Vertigo 10-day DL (4/21)
04/03/17 P Carson Smith Elbow 60-day DL (4/1)
04/03/17 P Roenis Elias Oblique 10-day DL (4/1)
03/30/17 P David Price Elbow 10-day DL (4/1)

Key Oakland Athletics Injuries

05/04/17 P Sean Doolittle Shoulder 10-day DL (5/3)
04/17/17 SS Marcus Semien Wrist 60-day DL (4/15)
04/06/17 P John Axford Shoulder 10-day DL (4/2)
04/01/17 P Chris Bassitt Elbow 60-day DL (3/30)
04/01/17 P Daniel Mengden Foot 10-day DL (3/30)
04/01/17 CF Jake Smolinski Shoulder 60-day DL (3/30)
04/01/17 2B Joey Wendle Shoulder 10-day DL (3/31)

Useful Pitching Statistics

The Red Sox have a 20-18 overall record this season. Starting pitcher Hector Velazquez will be making his season debut for the Red Sox. The bullpen has an earned run average of 2.90 and they have given up 98 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .222 against the bullpen and they've struck out 118 hitters and walked 42 batters. As a team, Boston allows 8.5 hits per nine innings while striking out 9.7 batters per nine innings. They are 11th in the league in team earned run average at 3.92. The Red Sox pitchers collectively have given up 311 base hits and 143 earned runs. They have allowed 43 home runs this season, ranking them 16th in the league. Boston as a pitching staff has walked 103 batters and struck out 354. They have walked 2.8 men per 9 innings while striking out 9.7 per 9. They have a team WHIP of 1.26 and their FIP as a unit is 3.60.

For expert handicapping advice on this matchup and other MLB games check out our handicapping tips.

Hitting Statistics

As a team Boston is hitting .270, good for 3rd in the league. The Red Sox hold a .411 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .342, which is good for 5th in baseball. They rank 4th in MLB with 9.2 hits per game. Mookie Betts is hitting .296 with an on-base percentage of .375. He has 40 hits this season in 135 at bats with 25 runs batted in. He has a slugging percentage of .526 and an OPS+ of 140. Mitch Moreland is hitting .254 this year and he has an on-base percentage of .362. He has totaled 33 hits and he has driven in 16 men in 130 at bats. His OPS+ is 109 while his slugging percentage is at .415. The Red Sox have 340 hits, including 75 doubles and 31 home runs. Boston has walked 131 times so far this season and they have struck out 238 times as a unit. They have left 265 men on base and have a team OPS of .753. They score 4.46 runs per contest and have scored a total of 165 runs this year.

Useful Pitching Statistics

Oakland has a 17-22 overall mark this year. With an earned run average of 3.78, Sonny Gray has a 0-1 record and a 1.32 WHIP. He has 9 strikeouts over the 16.2 innings he's pitched. He's also given up 17 hits. He allows 9.2 hits per nine innings and his FIP stands at 5.18. The bullpen has an earned run average of 4.79 and they have given up 123 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .246 against the Athletics bullpen. Their relievers have struck out 116 batters and walked 48 opposing hitters. As a team, Oakland allows 8.2 hits per nine innings while striking out 7.6 batters per nine innings. They are 23rd in the league in team earned run average at 4.43. The Athletics pitchers as a team have surrendered 304 base knocks and 164 earned runs this season. They have given up 37 home runs this year, which ranks 27th in Major League Baseball. Oakland as a staff has walked 126 hitters and struck out 283 batters. They give up a walk 3.4 times per 9 innings while they strike out 7.6 per 9. Their team WHIP is 1.29 while their FIP as a staff is 4.07.

Hitting Statistics

As a team, they are batting .234, good for 25th in the league. The Athletics hold a .414 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .305, which is good for 23rd in baseball. They rank 26th in MLB with 7.7 hits per contest. Yonder Alonso comes into this matchup batting .283 with an OBP of .377. He has 32 hits this year along with 29 RBI in 113 AB's. He maintains a slugging percentage of .646 with an OPS+ of 186. Jed Lowrie is hitting .277 this season and he has an OBP of .355. He has collected 38 hits in 137 at bats while driving in 9 runs. He has an OPS+ of 126 and a slugging percentage of .438. The Athletics as a unit have 294 base hits, including 63 doubles and 52 homers. Oakland has walked 126 times this year and they have struck out on 324 occasions. They have had 248 men left on base and have an OPS of .719. They have scored 3.82 runs per game and totaled 145 runs this season.

Who will win tonight's Red Sox/Athletics MLB game against the spread?

Guy's Pick: Take the Red Sox -115

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