In the last of a three-game series between the Boston Red Sox (26-31) and the Oakland Athletics (26-31) at Fenway Park, Clay Buchholz (3-6, 3.82 ERA) and Kendall Graveman (3-2, 5.56 ERA) get the start. The Red Sox won the last game 4-2 and Boston leads the series 2-0. The game starts at 1:35 p.m. ET on Sunday, Jun. 7 and will air on CSN-CA and NESN.
Buchholz is 3-2 with a 6.68 ERA and 1.99 WHIP against the Athletics in his career. Hanley Ramirez (.272, 31 Rs, 13 HRs, 31 RBIs, 3 SBs) played well again yesterday, going 3 for 5 with two runs, one home run, and two RBIs. In his career against the Red Sox, Graveman is 0-0 with a 0.00 ERA, 0.00 WHIP, and zero strikeouts. Josh Reddick (.296, 24 Rs, 8 HRs, 32 RBIs, 2 SBs) went 1 for 2 yesterday.
Boston, a -151 favorite, will look to capitalize at home against Oakland. The Over/Under (O/U) for the matchup is eight runs. The Red Sox are 16-21 as the favorite and have an overall money line of -1,209.
Moving on to the away team, the Athletics come into this game with a win percentage of .409 when playing as the underdog (9-13) and an overall money line of -1,654. One of the top hitting teams in the AL are the Athletics, who average 8.9 hits per game. The Athletics average 3.1 walks per road game, making them one of the most disciplined teams in the AL when they travel. Shifting to the pitching staff, they have the fourth-lowest ERA in the AL at 3.64.
In their previous five games this season, the Red Sox have a 4-1 record. The Red Sox will take on a right-hander (Graveman) in this game and have a 17-22 record against right-handed starting pitchers this season. Taking the hill against the Athletics will be the right-hander Buchholz. They sport a 20-23 record against righties.
Predictions: SU Winner – OAK, O/U – Over
Notes
When the Red Sox play into extra innings, they have a 2-1 record. The Athletics are 0-6 when their games exceed nine innings.
The Athletics managed to give up six walks in their last game. They’ll have to pick it up against the Red Sox who are heading in with a 7-2 record against opponents who give up that many walks or more.
When they are outhit, the Red Sox are 4-26. The Athletics have a 4-22 record when opponents outhit them.
Oakland ranks in the bottom half of the league at 17th when it comes to home runs, hitting 50 this season. Boston ranks in the top half at 13th with 53.
Ranking 11th, Boston is in the top half of the league in hits, notching 8.32 per game. Oakland ranks in the top five at third with 8.88.
Ranking 21st, Boston is near the bottom of the league for its on-base plus slugging percentage (.689). Oakland ranks in the bottom half at 16th with an OPS of .707.
When the Athletics allow at least one home run, they are 5-22. When the Red Sox allow one or more homers, they have an 11-26 record.
