Boston Hopes to Stay Hot on the Road Against Texas

The Boston Red Sox are 6-2 in their last eight road games against the Texas Rangers including a 1-1 record through the first two games of this current four-game series against them. The series continues on Saturday night in Arlington as the Rangers host the Red Sox again.

Sportsbook Odds Analysis

Early action on the Red Sox as -170 favorites has bumped the line up to Boston -185. Texas has settled in as a +165 road underdog and the total in this matchup has remained steady at 8.5 runs. The UNDER is 8-1 in Texas’s last nine home games.

Starting Pitchers Analysis

Eduardo Rodriguez missed all of the 2020 seasons with a heart condition caused by a bout with COVID-19. Rodriguez has returned in style in 2021 with a 4-0 record, a 3.52 ERA and a 0.87 WHIP through his first four starts. He has solidified himself as Boston’s ace in the absence of Chris Sale.

Jordan Lyles had one of the worst seasons of his career in 2020 when he went 1-6 with a 7.02 ERA and a 1.56 WHIP. This season hasn’t been much better as the right-hander owns a 6.75 ERA and a 1.54 WHIP through his first five starts. Lyles allowed 10 hits and seven earned runs in just 2.2 innings in his last trip to the mound against the Los Angeles Angels.

Boston News & Notes

J.D. Martinez went 3-for-4 with two runs, two home runs and four RBI in Boston’s 6-1 win over the Texas Rangers on Friday night. Martinez’s two home runs game the Red Sox star the MLB lead in home runs with nine on the season. The 33-year-old had gone without a hit in each of his previous three games before his big day on Friday.

Boston has shown some versatility over its last week of play by winning with pitching instead of hitting. With the offense averaging only three runs per game over the team’s last five games, the Red Sox are still 4-1 over that stretch due to allowing only 1.8 runs per game over that stretch.

Texas News & Notes

Since stringing together a 6-3 run to improve to 9-10 on the season during the middle of April, the Rangers cooled off and finished the month up with a 2-6 skid. Texas has historically been known for its strong offensive teams, but last year’s group finished 29^th in the majors in runs per game with 3.73 per game and this year’s team hasn’t been much better averaging 3.85 runs per game.

Pitching hasn’t been a strength either as the Rangers rank 23^rd in the majors with a 4.45 team ERA to date. Texas has had four straight losing seasons including a 22-38 record in 2020; early returns don’t point to a significant improvement this year.

Betting Pick: Boston -185