Boston Red Sox vs Houston Astros Prediction, 10/15/2021 MLB Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Boston Red Sox vs Houston Astros

Date: Friday, October 15, 2021

Location: Minute Maid Park in Houston, TX

TV: FOX

Odds/Point Spread: Boston (+126) Houston (-136)

Chris Sale and the Boston Red Sox (92-70, 2nd in AL East) are headed to Minute Maid Park on Friday where they'll take on the Houston Astros (95-67, 1st in AL West) in Game 1 of the ALCS. The Astros open this game at -136 while the Red Sox are coming in at +126. The over/under is set at 8. The pitchers who are expected to start are Chris Sale and Framber Valdez.

As a team, the Boston Red Sox are scoring 5.1 runs per contest, which puts them at 4th in the league. They have earned a total of 829 runs scored and hold an OBP of .328. The Red Sox have tallied 330 doubles as a unit and have knocked 219 baseballs out of the stadium. They have 783 RBI's and 1,434 hits for the season, and their batting average is sitting at .261. Boston owns a slugging percentage of .449 and have been called out on strikes 1,386 times, while drawing a walk on 512 occasions.

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The Red Sox have an ERA of 4.26 on the campaign (15th in MLB), and their staff has rung up 1,527 batters. They have walked 546 opposing players and their FIP sits at 3.95 as a team for the year. Their strikeout to walk ratio is 2.80 and their pitching staff has earned a collective WHIP of 1.38. Red Sox pitchers have allowed 176 long balls and also 749 total runs (18th in MLB).

The Red Sox relievers have a save percentage of 64.5% and has stepped onto the mound in 176 save situations. The relief pitchers have inherited 277 runners on the year and 30.7% of those players earned a run for their team. Red Sox relief pitchers have come into the game with opponents on base 177 times as well as having 198 appearances in high leverage situations. The Red Sox have sent 563 relievers to the hill this season. The bullpen have racked up 95 holds this year (7th in MLB). They have earned 49 saves this season and have blown 27 of 76 save opportunities.

The Red Sox have transformed 65.9% of balls hit into play into outs out of their 12,771 innings, which has them sitting 30th in baseball. The Boston Red Sox have 4,257 putouts on the year, as well as 1,421 assists and 108 errors. Their fielding percentage is holding at .981 which is 29th in pro baseball, and have a total of 1,104 double plays.

Sale has pitched in 1,672 innings and has 2,059 punch outs so far in his pro baseball career. His earned run average is 3.03 (563 ER's allowed) and he has a career WHIP of 1.042. He has conceded 1,357 base hits (7.3 hits per nine innings) and has 386 walks. Sale (114-74 career mark) sits with a FIP of 2.92 and he has gone up against 6,727 opposing batters during his time in the major leagues.

Houston has compiled 221 long balls for the season as well as 834 RBIs. They have hit 299 doubles, while walking 569 times and racking up 863 runs. The Houston Astros have recorded an OBP of .339 and a team batting average of .267 for the season. The Astros hold a team slugging percentage of .444 and they have an average of 5.33 runs per contest (1st in baseball). They have struck out on 1,222 occasions (29th in the league) and have accounted for 1,496 hits.

The Houston pitching staff have allowed 658 runs for the year while holding a team ERA of 3.76 (604 earned runs surrendered). They have given up 187 long balls and they relinquish 4.10 runs per 9 innings (6th in MLB). The Astros are sitting with a team WHIP of 1.230 and have a FIP of 4.12 as a pitching staff on the campaign. Their K/BB ratio sits at 2.65 (1,456 strikeouts vs 549 walks). They are sitting at 5th in MLB as a pitching staff in total hits relinquished with 1,229.

Houston has called on relief pitchers to take the mound in 61 save chances and they have earned 34 saves. They are ranked 24th in the league holding a save rate of 55.7%, and they have dispatched 512 relievers to the hill on the year. Their relievers have come in 166 times in high leverage situations and also on 137 occasions with runners on base. Houston relief pitchers have an inherited score percentage of 36.1% out of their 202 inherited runners. Sitting with 131 save situations, the Astros have earned 69 holds in addition to 27 blown saves.

The Houston Astros have turned 126 double plays and have notched a fielding percentage of .988 (1st in MLB). The Astros have recorded 1,432 assists, 71 errors and are sitting with 4,335 putouts for the season. In their 13,005 innings played, the Astros have accumulated a defensive efficiency of 71.3% (3rd in pro baseball).

During his career, Valdez has surrendered 269 base knocks while he has accumulated 303 punch outs in 313 innings pitched. He has given up 130 ER's while earning a WHIP of 1.313 and a FIP of 4.0. His strikeout to walk ratio is 2.13 and he has gone up against 1,343 batters during his pro baseball career. Valdez (24-17 career mark) has a 3.74 earned run average while giving up 7.7 hits per 9 innings.

So what is Tonights Parlay prediction?

Parlay's Pundit's Pick: Take Houston (-136) and under 8 runs

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