The Red Sox Express keeps rolling as they play the second game of a weekend set in Detroit tonight. The lowly Tigers enter this game as the underdog and have lost 21 of their last 26 contests, including a 1-0 shutout loss to Boston on Friday.
- The Tigers have won just five of their last 26 games.
- The Red Sox are 13-1 SU and 12-2 ATS in their last 14 games.
- The UNDER has hit in seven of Fiers’ last nine starts.
To see the Red Sox-Tigers matchup page, click here.
Pitching Matchup: Fiers Auditioning for Contenders
Mike Fiers (6-6, 3.70 ERA) starts for Detroit. The righty from Hollywood, Florida is rumored to be headed to a contender before the trade deadline. Could one of those potential contenders be the Red Sox? Boston is a well-constructed team but they do lack right-handed starting pitching. The Red Sox will get a first-hand look at the 33-year-old Fiers today.
Fiers has a WHIP of 1.22, the best of his career, except for 2013 in Milwaukee when he only made 14 starts. Impressive, considering Detroit is one of the worst teams in baseball since the beginning of June.
Boston counters with 27-year-old Brian Johnson (1-2, 4.20 ERA), yet another left-handed starter, who has finally cracked a big-league roster for a full season for the first time in 2018. This will be his 26th appearance but just his 5th start. Opponents are hitting .278 against Johnson and his WHIP is 1.46 - not sparkling numbers by any stretch, but the Sox have won each of his last three starts.
Red Sox Crushing Everything in Their Path
As they continue to battle for top spot in the AL East, the Red Sox look better every time out. As a team, they are slashing .295/.371/.463 in July, even better than their season line of .271/.338/.460.
My favorite stat, though, is that they’ve hit 216 doubles and are the only team with more than 200 doubles entering play on Saturday. This means they’re relying on more than just power. But, just in case you dig the long ball, they have 134 home runs (2nd in MLB).
Pick The Under, Fade The Under, Who Do You Trust?
Recent data points to the UNDER in this game, total Sportsbook at 9, but the OddsShark Super Computer says otherwise, predicting the OVER to hit with a total of 9.6.
Seven of Mike Fiers’ last nine starts have seen the UNDER hit and so has each of the four games between these teams this season.
Boston has paid UNDER bettors in three consecutive games. Only two other stretches this season have seen Boston’s totals hit the UNDER for four straight games or more. One of those stretches includes the series vs Detroit in June. After being held to just one run on Friday, are the Red Sox primed for an offensive explosion?
