In the last of a three-game series between the Boston Red Sox (63-52) and the Arizona Diamondbacks (48-68) at Fenway Park, Rick Porcello (15-3, 3.40 ERA) and Zack Greinke (11-3, 3.67 ERA) get the ball. The Red Sox won the last game 6-3, and Boston leads the series 2-0. The game gets underway at 1:35 p.m. ET on Sunday, Aug. 14 and will air on FSAZ and NESN.
In his most recent outing, Porcello pitched 8.0 innings, allowing two runs, striking out six and walking one in a 5-3 victory over the Yankees. Mookie Betts (.309, 87 Rs, 23 HRs, 76 RBIs, 18 SBs) went 1 for 4 yesterday with one RBI. The Diamondbacks were victorious over the Mets 5-3 the last time Greinke pitched. He went 6.0 innings, giving up three runs, striking out six and walking one.
Boston, a -150 favorite, will look to capitalize at home against Arizona. The Over/Under (O/U) for the matchup is nine runs. The Red Sox are 46-37 as the favorite and have an overall money line of -551. They have performed well against the NL to earn a SU record of 11-5 and a 10-3 record when they were the favorite. The Red Sox have the most prolific offense in the entire AL, averaging 5.4 runs per game. The Red Sox are a superb hitting team with an MLB-best .283 team batting average. They have been very patient at the plate, ranking third in the AL with an average of 3.4 walks per game. In games against National League opponents, Boston’s pitchers are doing better against opposing batters. They only give up an average of 3.6 runs per game, well under their season average of 4.7. They have been extremely effective at striking opposing batters out, averaging 8.3 strikeouts per game.
Moving on to the away team, the Diamondbacks come into this game with a weak win percentage of .371 when playing as the underdog (26-44) and an overall money line of -1,813. Against interleague competitors, they are 5-11 SU and have played poorly as the underdog with a 2-9 record. Arizona is one of the top road hitting teams in the NL with an average of 9.3 hits per contest. The Diamondbacks have racked up 87 steals on the year, making them one of the most threatening base-running teams in the league.
So far this season, the Red Sox are 2-0 against the Diamondbacks. The Red Sox will take on a right-hander (Greinke) in this game and have a 49-39 record against right-handed starting pitchers this season. Taking the hill against the Diamondbacks will be the right-hander Porcello. They sport a 33-52 record against righties.
Predictions: SU Winner – BOS, O/U – Over
Notes
The Red Sox managed to give up seven walks in their last game. They’ll have to pick it up against the Diamondbacks who are coming in with a 1-3 record against opponents who give up that many walks or more.
It looks like the Red Sox have a slight leg up on the Diamondbacks, as the Red Sox have won their last two games while the Diamondbacks have lost their last two.
When they outhit their opponents, the Diamondbacks are 35-13. The Red Sox have a 55-15 record when outhitting opponents.
Ranking first in runs, Boston has earned 624 this season. Arizona ranks 15th with 516 runs.
Ranking 25th, Arizona is near the bottom of the league in walks, notching 322 this season. Boston ranks in the top 10 at eighth with 389.
The Red Sox are 51-35 when they hit at least one home run. The Diamondbacks perform similarly when they hit one or more homers with a 40-37 record.
