Houston Astros vs Boston Red Sox MLB Odds, Betting Preview 9-7-18

A battle of the top two teams in the American League will take place this evening as the Houston Astros duke it out with the Boston Red Sox. This contest will take place at Fenway Park in Boston and is game one of a three-game set. Start time is 7:10 pm. These teams split the four meeting earlier in the year in Houston.   

Lines:  Houston -110… Boston +100 … Over/Under 7.5

Pitching Matchup

Getting the nod for the Astros will be Gerrit Cole and he has gone 13-5 with a 2.86 ERA in 28 starts on the year, including 6-3 with a 2.79 ERA in 14 starts on the road. In his career, he has gone 40-26 with a 3.32 ERA in 77 starts on the road and 14-7 with a 3.82 ERA in 25 starts during Sept/ Oct. Cole has gone 2-1 with a 4.74 ERA in three starts against the Sox in his career, including 0-1 with a 9.00 ERA in one start here at Fenway.

The Red Sox will trot out David Price in this one and he has gone 14-6 with a 3.60 ERA in 26 starts on the year, including 7-2 with a 3.10 ERA in 13 starts here at home. In his career, he has gone 24-7 with a 3.12 ERA in 48 games (45 starts) here at Fenway and 26-8 with a 3.00 ERA in 58 games (48 starts) during Sept/ Oct. Price has gone 6-2 with a 2.95 ERA in 11 games (nine starts) against the Astros in his career.

A Look At The Astros

The Houston Astros currently have the 2nd best record in the league and they really have no chance of catching the Red Sox for the best record. Still, this series will be about sending a message and building momentum for the postseason. The Astros come into this game having won their last five games in a row, with all five games coming at home. They are on the road for this series and they have gone 47-21 away from home for the year. That is the best mark in the league and they have outscored their foes by 167 runs on the road. That is also tops in the league.

Houston outscored their foes 25-10 during the win streak at home, but that was against the Twins and Angels. Their task will be a lot tougher in this one, especially since the Sox are the best home team in the league. In their finale against the Twins, the Astros won by 9-1 and leading the way was Alex Bregman, who had five RBIs on two hits. One was his 29th homer of the year. Evan Gattis also went deep in the game and that was his 25th of the year. Framber Valdez grabbed the win after allowing just one ERs on five hits and three walks in 5.1 innings of work.    

A Look At The Red Sox

The Red Sox started their year at 17-2 and they have not slowed down since. Boston has a 9.5 game lead over both the Yankees and Astros for the best record in the league. They will go into the postseason as the top seed, so their challenge down the stretch is just staying focused. The Sox come in off a three-game sweep of the Atlanta Braves on the road, so they look pretty focused at the moment. They will look to keep it going in this and the Red Sox have been the best home team in the league this year. The Sox come in at 48-18 here at Fenway and they have outscored their foes by 165 runs in those games. That is also tops in the league.

This game pits the best road team in the league against the best home team and that should make for a very exciting series. It could also be a preview of the ALDS. Boston has won seven of their last nine overall and in their finale against the Braves, they won by a score of 9-8. It was a wild one and they trailed 7-1 heading to the 8th, but they fought back and eventually won the game on a two-run homer by Brandon Phillips in the top of the 9th. It was his 1st homer of the year and in his first game of the year, Grabbing the win was Brandon Workman, who is now 4-0 with a 2.60 ERA on the year while picking up his 38th save was Craig Kimbrel.

Trends

Houston is:

20-6 in their last 26 road games vs. a left-handed starter

57-25 in their last 82 when their opponent allows 5 runs or more in their previous game

1-4 in Cole’s last 5 starts when their opponent allows 5 runs or more in their previous game

The Over is 5-1 in their last 6 games vs. a left-handed starter

The Under is 13-5-1 in their last 19 during game 1 of a series

Boston is:

10-1 in Prices last 11 starts after allowing 5 runs or more in their previous game

36-17 in their last 53 during game 1 of a series

The Over is 7-2 in their last 9 home games following a road trip of 7 or more days

The Under is 18-7-2 in their last 27 home games vs. a right-handed starter