Boston Red Sox at Texas Rangers Matchup 05/04/18

The Boston Red Sox will take on the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Park. The opening pitch is scheduled for 8:05 p.m. ET and New England Sports Network will broadcast this AL showdown.

Boston Red Sox at Texas Rangers Odds

Vegas is listing Boston (-180) as the favorite over Texas (+170). Bettors can wager on the game’s total with odds sitting at +100 for over 9.5 runs and -120 for under 9.5. Runline odds sit at -125 for taking the Red Sox -1.5 runs and +105 for the Rangers +1.5.

The Red Sox are 22-9 SU and are 14-16 against the spread (ATS). They’ve gained 9.2 units for gamblers taking the moneyline over the early portions of the season, despite having lost 2.2 units ATS. Boston’s covered the spread only once over its last seven games and the over has hit in four of those seven. The Rangers, on the other hand, are 13-20 SU and 13-19 ATS. They’ve lost 1.9 units for bettors taking the moneyline and 10.1 units ATS. Texas has covered the spread four times in its last seven games and the total has gone over in five of those seven.

Texas games have had an over/under record of 17-13-2 so far in 2018. Boston has an over/under record of 16-13-1.

Rick Porcello will get the nod for Boston. The right-handed Porcello is 4-0 with a 2.23 ERA and 38 strikeouts. He has yet to face Texas this year, but he did make two starts against the Rangers in 2017, posting a 1-0 record against them with a 4.85 ERA and seven strikeouts.

The Rangers are putting the ball in the right hand of Bartolo Colon (1-0, 2.87 ERA, 0.86 WHIP), who has 21 strikeouts and three walks this season. Colon did not record a start against the Red Sox in 2017.

As a unit, Texas’ pitchers have given up 5.4 runs per game overall in 2018. The club’s starting pitching staff has an ERA of 5.15, a WHIP of 1.52 and a strikeouts-per-nine of 7.3. The bullpen has a 4.60 ERA, 1.40 WHIP and 8.1 K/9.

Texas’ hitters are putting up 4.2 runs per outing, including 5.3 per game over its last 10 games and 6.0 per game over their last five. The team has slashed .263/.315/.500 over its last five contests and is 2-3 SU during that span.

Nomar Mazara and Shin-soo Choo have led the Rangers’ offense so far. Mazara is hitting .285/.333/.472 with six home runs, 22 RBIs and 17 runs scored, while Choo’s line is .258/.342/.438 with five homers, 15 RBIs and 21 runs.

Mazara seemed to enjoy hitting righties at home last season, slashing .312/.379/.526 over 240 such plate appearances (compared to his total season line of .253/.323/.422).

In the visiting dugout, Boston’s pitchers have allowed 3.8 runs per game and its starters own a 3.51 ERA, 1.18 WHIP and 9.10 K/9. The bullpen has logged an ERA of 3.62, along with a K/9 of 9.80.

The Red Sox offense has slashed .271/.339/.454 on its way to 5.6 runs scored per game in 2018, including 5.1 runs per game over the team’s last 10 games and 6.0 per game over the team’s last five outings (3-2 SU).

Boston’s offensive production been led by Mookie Betts and J.D. Martinez, who collectively have launched 18 home runs. Betts is slashing .370/.449/.850 with 12 home runs, 25 RBIs and 33 runs scored, while Martinez is hitting .345/.392/.584 with six homers, 24 RBIs and 18 runs scored.

Compared to his total season slash line of .303/.376/.690, Martinez did not perform especially well against righty pitching on the road last season, maintaining a slash line of only .255/.299/.588 across 177 such plate appearances.

The Red Sox have gained 10.4 units and are 12-12 ATS when facing a righty starter this season. The over has cashed in 15 of those games, compared to eight that’ve gone under against right-handed starting pitchers. On the other hand, the Rangers have netted 0.9 units and are 11-13 ATS when facing a righty starter. The over’s hit in 12 of those games, compared to 11 that went under the total.

Boston Red Sox vs. Texas Rangers Free Prediction

Predictions: SU Winner – Red Sox, ATS Winner – Red Sox, O/U – UNDER

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