Boston Red Sox @ Oakland Athletics Bet Builder
Red Sox to Win
Alternate Total Runs: Over 8.5
First Innings Result: Red Sox
Jarren Duran to record a hit
Rafael Devers to hit a home run
- A Bet Builder with these bets pays at approximately 22/1 with Paddy Power. CLICK HERE TO ADD IT TO YOUR BETSLIP.
Boston Red Sox @ Oakland Athletics
Wednesday 8:37PM Oakland Coliseum, Oakland, California
TV: TNT Sports 4
We interrupt your usual programming to inform you that baseball is back, baby!
Maybe you’re a seasoned pro who knows the difference between an unassisted double play and a fly-out, or perhaps this is the first time you’ve ever sat through nine innings of baseball and therefore wondering why they start singing halfway through the seventh.
Either way, profit is welcome no matter the code.
Allow me to set the scene:
The Oakland Athletics are the most unenviable sports team in the US at the moment. They’re effectively leaving for Vegas, much like the Raiders – but they lack the huge passionate fanbase that kept Raiders fans attending games right up until the departure.
OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA – SEPTEMBER 04: A general view of the game between the Oakland Athletics and the Toronto Blue Jays at RingCentral Coliseum on September 04, 2023 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images)
Instead, the A’s (that is grammatically incorrect, but stylistically accurate, unfortunately) are sat in an awkward space – where fans don’t attend, players don’t care and they’re already coming off the back of an awful season.
You probably don’t need to be Nostradamus to guess where my advice is being aimed, but I implore you to keep reading nonetheless.
Three strikes we’re out? More like five legs and we’re in clover.
Red Sox to Win
I mean, they just will.
Oftentimes, good teams don’t beat bad teams due to them falling into a rut when it comes to recording hits. But you can counter that by being aggressive on the bases. So, if you can’t move runners, then runners can move themselves by stealing bases.
Already a force in 2023, the Red Sox have stolen eight bases so far in 2024, behind only the Brewers, Reds and Nationals.
They’ll create their own opportunities this way and always be a good bet to score runs because of it.
Alternate Total Runs: Over 8.5
We don’t want to make it as simple as suggesting that both of their first two games in this series had nine runs in them, but it does speak somewhat to the nature of these teams.
Low-scoring games aren’t really in their respective repertoires for different reasons – the A’s don’t care about winning and the Red Sox don’t have a strong enough pitching rotation.
We’ll get into the specifics shortly, but the key Boston pieces haven’t even hit their stride yet. In a game where the series has already been clinched, they can let loose a bit more and not worry about situational hitting.
First Inning Result: Red Sox
For this market, you need to look at two things: the top of the respective orders and the numbers they’re churning, and how the starting pitchers perform earlier in games.
Ross Stripling’s first start this season saw him give up a multiple run homer in the first inning, and surrender a balk.
For those not invested enough, conceding a run on a balk is the most embarrassing thing to happen to a pitcher.
They’ll be at him early and often.
Jarren Duran to record a hit
He has been transformed as a hitter since the middle of last year and only injury really stopped him from getting nationwide attention.
Batting leadoff, Duran is top of the order and that so conveniently ties in with Stripling’s early-inning struggles.
He’s combined for four hits in the first two games of this series and looks supremely confident.
Rafael Devers to hit a home run
Devers is projected to lead the Sox in home runs this year, and was in some firms’ top-ten betting for most home runs in the Majors pre-season.
Home runs are season-long projections and you generally want to buy the dip when you can. Devers homered in the season opener and hasn’t made decent contact since.
I reckon we’re overdue, and given the A’s indifference to seeking ground balls, I think he’ll go yard.
Boston Red Sox @ Oakland Athletics Bet Builder
Red Sox to Win
Alternate Total Runs: Over 8.5
First Innings Result: Red Sox
Jarren Duran to record a hit
Rafael Devers to hit a home run
- A Bet Builder with these bets pays at approximately 22/1 with Paddy Power. CLICK HERE TO ADD IT TO YOUR BETSLIP.
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