Odds, Picks and Predictions
The Boston Red Sox (58-59) and Pittsburgh Pirates (45-71) prepare to square off in a Wednesday night interleague matchup.
The Red Sox have won four out of their past five games. They are beginning to play a decent brand of baseball and still technically have a chance in the AL Wild Card. The odds of them sneaking into the postseason are slim, but there is a chance.
Meanwhile, the Pirates continue to labor. Pittsburgh has dropped five straight games, and it seems as if they are in a perpetual rebuild. Pirates fans deserve a winning season.
Boston leads this series 1-0 after defeating the PIrates 5-3 on Tuesday night. The Pirates will aim for a rebound victory in this game.
Wednesday’s first pitch is scheduled for 7:05 PM EST on Wednesday, August 17th, at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, PA. We should be in for an exciting match!
Boston Red Sox at Pittsburgh Pirates Info
Location: PNC Park, Pittsburgh, PA
Date: Wednesday, August 17th, 2022
Time: 7:05 PM EST
TV: NESN, ATPT, MLB.TV
Top Sportsbooks Odds
- BetOnline: Red Sox -1.5
- Bovada: Red Sox-1.5
- MyBookie: Red Sox-1.5
- BetUS: Red Sox -1.5
- BetNow: Red Sox -1.5
The Red Sox enter this game as unsurprising favorites. Despite dealing with their own issues this year, the Red Sox are more trustworthy than the Pirates.
However, should you place your money on Boston? Or are the Pirates worth a shot as the underdog?
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Betting Trends
- The Boston Red Sox are 60-57 against the run line so far this season.
- The Pittsburgh Pirates are 59-57 against the run line so far this year.
- The Red Sox are 33-25 against the run line when playing on the road.
- The Pirates are 27-27 against the run line when playing at their home ballpark.
- Pittsburgh is 53-49 against the run line as an underdog this year.
- Boston is 27-34 against the run line as a favorite this year.
- The Pirates are 23-20 against the run line when playing as a home underdog.
- The Red Sox are 11-13 against the run line when playing as a road favorite.
Betting on Boston Red Sox
The Red Sox have been decent against the run line in 2022. They aren’t the best team in baseball to bet on, but there are certainly worse teams.
Overall, Boston has struggled. But they’ve gone through different spurts this year. After a lackluster beginning to the year, they caught fire for a bit. However, the wheels fell off in July, and the Red Sox were presumed sellers.
But they had an extremely confusing trade deadline. They traded away a couple of players but kept most of their stars. Additionally, they acquired Eric Hosmer and Tommy Pham.
And now the Red Sox are playing fairly well and are just four games out of the Wild Card. So perhaps they are trying for the playoffs?
On the season, the Red Sox are sixth in batting average, 17th in OBP, 10th in slugging percentage, 12th in runs scored, and 19th in home runs.
Pitching-wise, they are 25th in team ERA, 22nd in WHIP, 19th in home runs surrendered, and 22nd in batting average against.
Regardless of their intentions, the Red Sox are the team to beat in this series.
For Boston, Rich Hill (4-5, 4.75) will start this game. Hill has battled through injuries and hasn’t been great when on the mound in 2022. But he should be able to produce good results against the lowly Pirates.
Betting on Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pirates are in the midst of a losing streak at the moment. This is a ball club that is still rebuilding. They have offensive talent and potential, but the pitching has a lot left to be desired.
With that being said, Pittsburgh hasn’t been awful against the run line. They are typically underdogs, so they know how to play in those scenarios.
Despite their all-around struggles, the Pirates haven’t been a bad team to place run line bets on in 2022. It will be interesting to see if they can make Wednesday’s game competitive.
On the season, the Pirates are 29th in batting average, 28th in OBP, 28th in slugging percentage, 28th in runs scored, and 18th in home runs.
Meanwhile, they are 26th in team ERA, 27th in WHIP, 14th in home runs allowed and 27th in batting average against.
Roansy Contreras (3-2, 3.78) will get the start for Pittsburgh. He’s a young pitcher with solid potential. His ceiling has the Pirates hopeful for the future.
He has already displayed some signs of stardom in limited action for Pittsburgh. They are hopeful he will lead them to a victory in this affair.
Pittsburgh is hopeful that they can break out of their slump and post a win against Boston.
Boston Red Sox at Pittsburgh Pirates and Predictions
So which team should you place your bets on?
Both the Red Sox and Pirates are fairly mediocre against the run line. However, I would give a slight edge to Pittsburgh in the pitching department on Wednesday.
Contreras has been sharp for Pittsburgh this season. Hill has certainly not pitched all that well.
But with that being said, the Red Sox obviously hold a large advantage from an offensive standpoint. Even if Contreras pitches well, there is no guarantee that Pittsburgh’s bullpen will be able to handle the Red Sox lineup.
It is for that reason I would be hesitant to take the Pirates in this one. Additionally, Boston is beginning to build some momentum while the Pirates have been playing a very underwhelming brand of baseball.
The Red Sox are the team to beat in this Thursday interleague ball game.
The Picks:
- Go ahead and take the Boston Red Sox as your moneyline betting selection in this game.
- Take the over on the implied run total in this one.
- Roll with the Boston Red Sox -1.5 as the road favorites to cover the run line.
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