Boston Red Sox vs Baltimore Orioles Prediction, 8/21/2020 MLB Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Boston Red Sox vs Baltimore Orioles

Date: Friday, August 21, 2020

Location: Oriole Park in Baltimore, MD

TV: NESN/MASN

Odds/Point Spread: Red Sox (-141) Orioles (+130)

Alex Verdugo and the Boston Red Sox (7-18, 5th in AL East) head to Oriole Park on Friday where they'll take on the Baltimore Orioles (12-12, 3rd in AL East). The Red Sox open this game at -141 while the Orioles are coming in at +130. The total has been set at 9.5. The starting pitchers will be Phillips Valdez and John Means.

Key Boston Red Sox Injuries

8/19/2020 J.D DH Illness Probable for Aug 20
8/13/2020 Andrew Benintendi LF Ribs Expected to be out until at least Aug 28
8/1/2020 Eduardo Rodriguez SP Illness Out for the season
7/7/2020 Dustin Pedroia 2B Knee Expected to be out until at least Sep 1
6/28/2020 Chris Sale SP Elbow Out for the season

Key Baltimore Orioles Injuries

8/18/2020 Jose Iglesias SS Quadriceps Expected to be out until at least Aug 26
8/15/2020 Austin Hays CF Ribs Expected to be out until at least Aug 25
8/9/2020 Kohl Stewart SP Opt Out Out for the season
8/8/2020 Hunter Harvey RP Elbow Expected to be out until at least Aug 29
7/14/2020 Richie Martin SS Wrist Out for the season
6/28/2020 Trey Mancini RF Abdomen Out for the season

Useful Pitching Statistics

The Red Sox have a 7-18 overall record this season. Valdez has taken the mound for 30 frames and has totaled 31 strikeouts in his career. His ERA is 2.69 (9 ER's allowed) and he has a career WHIP of 1.495. He has given up 32 base knocks (9.6 hits per 9 innings) and has had 13 walks. Valdez (0-0 win-loss record in his career) has a FIP of 4.56 and he has faced 136 opposing hitters in the major leagues. The bullpen has an earned run average of 5.71 and they have given up 131 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .239 against the bullpen and they've struck out 132 hitters and walked 54 batters. As a team, Boston allows 10.2 hits per nine innings while striking out 8.8 batters per nine innings. They are 30th in the league in team earned run average at 6.22. The Red Sox pitchers collectively have given up 247 base hits and 150 earned runs. They have allowed 42 home runs this season, ranking them 2nd in the league. Boston as a pitching staff has walked 106 batters and struck out 213. They have walked 4.4 men per 9 innings while striking out 8.8 per 9. They have a team WHIP of 1.63 and their FIP as a unit is 5.36.

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Hitting Statistics

As a team Boston is hitting .254, good for 8th in the league. The Red Sox hold a .422 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .318, which is good for 16th in baseball. They rank 6th in MLB with 8.7 hits per game. Alex Verdugo is hitting .284 with an on-base percentage of .356. He has 23 hits this season in 81 at bats with 9 runs batted in. He has a slugging percentage of .531 and an OPS+ of 135. Christian Vazquez is hitting .250 this year and he has an on-base percentage of .278. He has totaled 19 hits and he has driven in 12 men in 76 at bats. His OPS+ is 91 while his slugging percentage is at .447. The Red Sox have 217 hits, including 52 doubles and 28 home runs. Boston has walked 72 times so far this season and they have struck out 234 times as a unit. They have left 167 men on base and have a team OPS of .740. They score 4.4 runs per contest and have scored a total of 110 runs this year.

Useful Pitching Statistics

During his career, Means has surrendered 152 hits while he has accumulated 131 punchouts in 166 innings pitched. He has conceded 76 ER's while holding a WHIP of 1.157 and having a FIP of 4.5. His strikeout to walk ratio is 3.28 and he has faced 688 hitters so far in his pro baseball career. Means (12-12 record in his career) has earned a 4.12 earned run average while surrendering 8.2 hits per 9 innings. The bullpen has an earned run average of 4.26 and they have given up 92 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .202 against the Orioles bullpen. Their relievers have struck out 114 batters and walked 45 opposing hitters. As a team, Baltimore allows 8.5 hits per nine innings while striking out 8.5 batters per nine innings. They are 20th in the league in team earned run average at 4.77. The Orioles pitchers as a team have surrendered 201 base knocks and 113 earned runs this season. They have given up 31 home runs this year, which ranks 13th in Major League Baseball. Baltimore as a staff has walked 72 hitters and struck out 200 batters. They give up a walk 3 times per 9 innings while they strike out 8.5 per 9. Their team WHIP is 1.28 while their FIP as a staff is 4.40.

Hitting Statistics

As a team, they are batting .262, good for 4th in the league. The Orioles hold a .457 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .326, which is good for 8th in baseball. They rank 3rd in MLB with 9.0 hits per contest. Hanser Alberto comes into this matchup batting .324 with an OBP of .346. He has 33 hits this year along with 13 RBI in 102 AB's. He maintains a slugging percentage of .500 with an OPS+ of 130. Chance Sisco is hitting .270 this season and he has an OBP of .438. He has collected 10 hits in 37 at bats while driving in 6 runs. He has an OPS+ of 175 and a slugging percentage of .568. The Orioles as a unit have 217 base hits, including 52 doubles and 35 homers. Baltimore has walked 73 times this year and they have struck out on 195 occasions. They have had 159 men left on base and have an OPS of .783. They have scored 5.12 runs per game and totaled 123 runs this season.

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

Tony's Pick: Take the Red Sox (-141)

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