MLB Baseball
2013-04-19 - Kansas City Royals at Boston Red Sox
A Sports Betting Pick by Addicted
Baseball : North America : MLB
Friday, 19th April, 2013, 7:10PM US
(12:10AM GMT)
PREVIEW
The Boston Red Sox won handsomely last night to increase their run to 6 wins on the trot. They are home tonight, their first time back at Fenway Park since the bombs went off at the end of the marathon. It's going to be emotional, and I think Boston will ride that to a win.
Boston want to keep the wins coming, but also need to win for the locals after an emotional week. This is also the opener to a 3 game series against the Royals, so they require a good start. While Boston are on a 6 game winning streak and are 11-4, Kansas City's winning current streak is 1 win, and they are 8-6, including just 4-4 on the road.
Kansas will send James Shields to the hill. He is 1-2 with a 3.43ERA. He's been a bit unlucky, pitching well but getting tagged with losses, but then again he wasn't very good but still managed to get his win, so swings and roundabouts. What I take from that is inconsistency, and that will cost him here. After all, his record against the Red Sox isn't good. While with the Tampa Bay Rays, he faced them quite a lot, and he has a poor 4.56ERA against them, with an 8-13 record that inspires no confidence.
The returning Red Sox hand the ball to Clay Buchholz, who is a perfect 3-0 with a 0.41ERA. He's allowed just 1 earned run through 22 innings of work, and he becomes the very first Boston Red Sox pitcher to allow just 1 earned run or less through their first 3 starts in 15 years! His strikeouts are fantastic, getting 11 in his last start, shutting the Rays out with 8 brilliant innings while his team scored 5 runs.
BETTING VERDICT
Total mismatch, and an emotional atmosphere. Boston all the way.
The Pick :
Boston Red Sox 5-2 Kansas City Royals
Gooner’s Statistical Value Bet
Boston -1.5RL @ 2.48 (Pinnacle)
