Most baseball experts were betting that the AL East would be a dogfight between the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees. The Red Sox pitching staff was touted to be every bit as effective as the Yankees, and no one was denying the bat power of the Red Sox. But just like betting on NFL games in the preseason, you never really know what you get until the teams take the field.
This season, the Red Sox pitching has been inconsistent and unreliable. Staff ace Josh Beckett has spent most of the season on the injury list, and no one in the staff has really been able to pick up the slack. When you get involved in NCAA football betting, you rarely bet on the team that has lost its star quarterback. When the Red Sox lost their star quarterback in Beckett, it seemed like the rest of the team just fell apart.
The Angels were expecting great things this season. But the Angels hopes were predicated on the Texas Rangers and Oakland A’s having lousy seasons. Right now the Texas Rangers lead the AL West by seven and a half games over the A’s and the Angels. The Angels just cannot win on the road, and when you cannot win on the road then you are not going to win your division.
In the AL there seems to be little doubt who the division winners will be in the AL East and the AL West. Boston is not going to win the East, and the Angels are not winning in the West. But that does not mean that the Red Sox are completely out of the MLB betting picture this season. The Red Sox trail the Tampa Bay Rays by five games in the AL Wild Card race, and the Red Sox have come back to take the Wild Card more than once in the past few seasons.
Why should the Red Sox Nation get excited about the prospects of a Wild Card berth? Because Beckett is back, and the season is not over. Josh Beckett takes the mound in this game and he brings a deceiving 1-1 record along with an inflated 6.66 ERA with him. Beckett had five strikeouts in five and two-thirds innings in his most recent start, which was his first back from his injury. He looked like the staff ace, and he looked to be ready to play.
The Angels will put Joel Pineiro on the mound for this game. The breaking ball pitcher is 10-7 this season and that includes a seven game winning streak that the Yankees broke in his last start. Pineiro has a 4.18 ERA this season, which is excellent for a breaking ball pitcher and shows that he veteran still has the control he needs to win.
The Boston Red Sox are a fast ball hitting team. They have had problems hitting breaking ball pitchers for years. However, this season the Red Sox bats seem to be able to strike at any moment, and if Pineiro leaves his breaking balls out over the plate like he did against the Yankees then he could be in for another long night.
Pick: Boston Red Sox 4-2