Wade Miley (8-9, 4.68 ERA) and Felix Hernandez (14-6, 3.11 ERA) take the hill in the second of a three-game series between the Boston Red Sox (51-64) and the Seattle Mariners (54-62) at Fenway Park. The Red Sox won the last game 15-1 and Boston leads the series 1-0. Action begins at 1:35 p.m. ET on Saturday, Aug. 15 and can be seen on RTNW and NESN.
Miley pitched 6.0 innings in his last outing, surrendering five runs, striking out six and walking one in a 7-6 defeat to the Tigers. David Ortiz (.258, 53 Rs, 25 HRs, 69 RBIs) had another good game yesterday, going 2 for 4 with three runs and one RBI. Hernandez went 7.0 innings, surrendering two runs, striking out five and walking one in a 4-2 win over the Rangers in his most recent start.
Seattle takes on Boston as a -135 favorite. The Over/Under (O/U) for the matchup is sitting at eight runs. The Red Sox have an overall money line of -2,085 and a record as the underdog of 20-27. Boston is one of the best in the AL in terms of walks, earning an average of 3.0 per game.
In games where it is the favorite, Seattle has a 31-37 record and an overall money line of -1,414. They played solid baseball as the favorite over their last 10 games with a 5-2 record, and a 7-3 record SU. Offensively, the Mariners have really picked up the pace in the last 10 games. They have exceeded their season average of 3.7 runs per game by averaging 4.9 during that stretch.
The Red Sox lead the season series, 3-2. The Red Sox have a 38-45 record against right-handed starting pitchers on the year, which is what they’ll be facing when Hernandez takes the mound. Miley (LHP) will be on the hill against the Mariners, who have a 13-17 record against left-handed starting pitchers.
Predictions: SU Winner – Sea, O/U – Under
Notes
Seattle has won 42% (17-23) of its games when leading after 7 innings. However, Boston has won 46% (26-30) of its games when taking a late lead.
Having scored one run in their last game, the Mariners are going to have to up their game if they want to win this matchup. The Red Sox have a 17-2 record in games where opponents scored that many runs or fewer.
When they outhit their opponents, the Mariners are 33-18. The Red Sox have a 41-7 record when outhitting opponents.
Ranking 25th, Seattle sits near the bottom of the league in runs, scoring 431 this season. Boston ranks in the top 10 at 10th with 497.
Boston and Seattle both rank in the top half of the league in walks. Boston sits at 11th with 340 this season and Seattle ranks 14th with 330.
The Red Sox are 38-36 when they hit at least one home run. The Mariners perform similarly when they hit one or more homers with a 45-34 record.
