Friday, March 24, 2017

Florida Auto Exchange Stadium

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Probable Pitchers: Drew Pomeranz vs. J.A. Happ

The Boston Red Sox visit Florida Auto Exchange Stadium on Friday, March 24, 2017 to play the Toronto Blue Jays in a Spring Training matchup. The probable starters are Drew Pomeranz for the Red Sox and J.A. Happ for the Blue Jays.

The opening line for this matchup has Boston at +105 and Toronto at -125. The Red Sox had a 77-78-7 over/under record and a 83-79-0 run line mark last season, meaning they covered 51% of the time. The Blue Jays were 79-83-0 against the run line and had a 63-93-6 over/under record. They covered the spread 49% of the time.

Valuable Boston Red Sox Betting Trends

The Boston Red Sox were 77-78-7 against the over/under last season

The Boston Red Sox were 83-79-0 against the run line last season

Important Toronto Blue Jays Betting Trends

The Toronto Blue Jays were 63-93-6 against the over/under last season

The Toronto Blue Jays were 79-83-0 against the run line last season

Key Boston Red Sox Injuries

No key injuries to report

Key Toronto Blue Jays Injuries

No key injuries to report

Useful Pitching Statistics

The Red Sox are coming off a 93-69 record in 2016, including 46-35 on the road. Starting pitcher Drew Pomeranz had a 11-12 record with an earned run average of 3.32 and a WHIP of 1.18. He had 186 strikeouts over his 170.2 innings pitched and he gave up 137 hits last season. He allowed 7.2 hits per 9 innings and he had a FIP of 3.8. The bullpen last year had an earned run average of 3.56 and they gave up 411 base hits on the year. Teams hit .231 against the bullpen while being struck out 507 times and walking 193 times last season. As a team, Boston allowed 8.38 hits per nine innings while striking out 8.51 batters per nine innings. They were 9th in the league in team earned run average at 4.00. The Red Sox pitchers collectively gave up 1,341 base hits and 640 earned runs. They allowed 176 home runs last season and they allowed 1.1 homers per nine innings as a staff. Boston as a pitching staff walked 490 batters and struck out 1,362. They walked 3.1 men per 9 innings while striking out 8.5 per 9. They had a team WHIP of 1.27 and their FIP as a unit was 4.00.

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Hitting Statistics

As a team Boston batted .282, good for 1st in the league while putting together a .264 average away from home. The Red Sox held a .461 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .348 which was good for 1st in baseball. They ranked 1st in baseball with 9.86 hits per game. Mookie Betts is coming off a 2016 season in which he hit .318 with an on-base percentage of .363. He had 214 hits last season along with 122 runs scored and 113 runs batted in. He struck out 80 times and walked 49 times. Xander Bogaerts hit .294 last year and he had an on-base percentage of .356. He totaled 192 hits while scoring 115 runs and he drove in 89. He walked 58 times and struck out on 123 occasions. The Red Sox had 1,598 hits, including 343 doubles and 208 home runs. They stole 83 bases and were thrown out stealing 24 times. Boston walked 558 times last season and they struck out 1,160 times as a unit. They left 1,162 men on base and had a team OPS of .810. They scored 5.42 runs per contest and scored a total of 878 runs last year.

Useful Pitching Statistics

Toronto had a 46-35 home record and a 89-73 overall mark in 2016. With an earned run average of 3.18, J.A. Happ had a 20-4 record and a 1.17 WHIP last season. He had 163 strikeouts over the 195 innings he pitched during which he gave up 168 hits. He allowed 7.8 hits per nine innings and his FIP stood at 3.96. Last season the bullpen had an earned run average of 4.11 and they gave up 452 base hits on the year. Teams hit .249 against the Blue Jays bullpen while being struck out 472 times and walking 136 times last season. As a team, Toronto allowed 8.26 hits per nine innings while striking out 8.1 batters per nine innings. They were 6th in the league in team earned run average at 3.78. The Blue Jays pitchers as a team surrendered 1,340 base knocks and 613 earned runs last season. They gave up 183 home runs last year and they gave up 1.1 home runs per nine innings as a staff. Toronto as a staff walked 461 hitters and struck out 1,314. They gave up a walk 2.8 times per 9 innings while they struck out 8.1 per 9. Their team WHIP was 1.23 while their FIP as a staff was 4.05.

Hitting Statistics

As a team, they batted .248, good for 23rd in the league while putting together a .260 average at home. The Blue Jays held a .426 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .330 which was good for 6th in baseball. They ranked 24th in baseball with 8.38 hits per contest. Justin Smoak comes into this matchup after batting .217 with an OBP of .314. He had 65 hits last year along with 33 runs scored and 34 RBI. He struck out 112 times and walked on 40 occasions. Josh Donaldson hit .284 in 2016 and he had an OBP of .404. He collected 164 hits while scoring 122 runs and driving in 99. He earned a walk 109 times and punched out 119 times. The Blue Jays as a unit had 1,358 base hits, including 276 doubles and 221 homers. They had 54 stolen bases and were thrown out 24 times. Toronto as a team walked 632 times last year and they struck out 1,362 times. They had 1,120 men left on base and had an OPS of .755. They scored 4.69 runs per game and totaled 759 runs last season.

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

Guy's Pick: Take the Red Sox +105

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