Friday’s MLB schedule brings us a rematch of the 2004 and 2013 World Series, not to mention the 1946 and 1967 World Series, as the Boston Red Sox play host to the St. Louis Cardinals.
At home, the Red Sox are slight favorites with a -115 moneyline, while the Cardinals have a moneyline of -105. The game also has an over/under of 9.5 runs.
Despite dropping their series finale to the A’s on Thursday, the Red Sox have been one of the hottest teams in baseball lately. Boston is 11-3 during the month of June, climbing four games over .500. Of course, that’s only good enough for fourth in the AL East, although they are just half a game out of a playoff spot heading into Friday.
Meanwhile, the Cardinals have gone 5-2 since getting swept by the Rays last week. They’ve been able to take advantage of Milwaukee’s struggles and leap above the Brewers into first place in the NL Central. Of course, that lead is just two games, so the Cards can’t breathe easy just yet.
It’s All Wain Right
The ageless Adam Wainwright will get the start for the Cards in Friday’s series opener. Over his first 12 starts of the season, the 40-year-old is 5-4 with a 2.84 ERA. Even at his age, Wainwright is averaging over six innings per start and always positions the Cardinals to win, as St. Louis has won six of his last seven starts.
The St. Louis offense has also started to get on track lately, averaging 5.7 runs per game over the last six games. Of course, Paul Goldschmidt has led the St. Louis offense all season and is putting up numbers that arguably make him the early front runner for MVP in the National League.
In addition to Goldschmidt, Tommy Edman, Brendan Donovan, and Dylan Carlson have gotten hot over the last week, with Nolan Arenado also lurking in the middle of the order.
Hello, Old Friend
Longtime St. Louis pitcher Michael Wacha will get the start for Boston against his former team on Friday. Wacha has struggled since leaving St. Louis but has finally reclaimed his old form, going 4-1 with a 2.33 ERA over ten starts. He had a three-hit, complete-game shutout earlier this month and has allowed two runs or less in eight of his ten starts.
At the same time, the Red Sox have scored at least five runs in half of their games this month. The trio of J.D. Martinez, Rafael Devers, and Xander Bogaerts are all having seasons that could eventually put them in the MVP discussion in the American League.
In the team’s last six games, Bogaerts is batting .455 while Devers and Martinez have combined for seven home runs, although the rest of the lineup has struggled to get going and contribute.
Stay Low
While both of these teams have been hot offensively lately, Wainwright and Wacha have a chance to cool things down. Both have been exceptional this year, making 9.5 runs a lot. The game itself is a tossup, but the real value is taking the under on 9.5 runs.
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