The Oakland A’s (35-59) and Boston Red Sox (50-41) conclude their 3-game series Thursday. First pitch from Fenway Park is slated for 7:10 p.m. ET. Let’s analyze FanDuel Sportsbook’s lines around the A’s vs. Red Sox odds and make our expert MLB picks and predictions for the best bets.
Season series: Red Sox lead 4-1
The A’s evened the series with a 5-2 victory Wednesday as +172 underdogs. SP JP Sears stifled Boston’s offense for 5 2/3 innings, allowing 1 run on 4 hits and 2 walks with 8 K’s. RF Lawrence Butler went 2-for-3 with a 2-run double and Oakland’s rookie All-Star closer Mason Miller recorded his 15th save with a scoreless 9th.
Boston SP Nick Pivetta struck out 10, including 8 consecutive at one point, but allowed 4 runs on 6 hits and 2 walks to get saddled with his 6th loss of the season. The Red Sox only managed 2 runs on 8 hits, one being a solo homer from RF Rob Refsnyder. Boston currently sits in the 3rd and final wild card spot.
A’s at Red Sox projected starters
RHP Luis Medina vs. RHP Tanner Houck
Medina (2-3, 4.37 ERA) makes his 8th start. He has a 1.54 WHIP, 4.6 BB/9 and 6.4 K/9 in 35 innings.
- Last start: Win, 5 IP, 1 ER, 6 H, 3 BB, 3 K in 19-8 blowout vs. visiting Baltimore Orioles Saturday
- 2024 road splits: 0-2, 4.12 ERA (19 2/3 IP, 9 ER), 1.37 WHIP, 8.2 K/9 in 4 starts
- Career vs. Red Sox: 1-0, 3.09 ERA (11 2/3 IP, 4 ER), 10 H, 2 BB, 15 K in 1 start and 1 relief appearance
- Last start vs. Red Sox: Win, 5 2/3 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, 1 BB, 6 K in 3-0 home shutout July 18, 2023
Houck (7-6, 2.68 ERA) makes his 19th start. He has a 1.05 WHIP, 1.9 BB/9 and 8.6 K/9 in 111 innings.
- Last start: No-decision, 3 1/3 IP, 1 ER (3 R), 2 H, 4 BB, 1 K in 5-3 win in 10 innings at New York Yankees Friday
- 2024 home splits: 3-4, 3.23 ERA (64 IP, 23 ER), 1.11 WHIP, 8.4 K/9 in 10 starts
- Career vs A’s: 1-0, 0.00 ERA (7 IP, 0 ER), 5 H, 0 BB, 12 K in 1 start and 1 relief outing
- 2024 vs. A’s: 1 road start, win, 6 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, 0 BB, 10 K in 9-0 rout April 1
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A’s at Red Sox odds
Provided by FanDuel Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 12:52 a.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): A’s +190 (bet $100 to win $190) | Red Sox -230 (bet $230 to win $100)
- Run line (RL)/Against the spread (ATS): A’s +1.5 (-105) | Red Sox -1.5 (-114)
- Over/Under (O/U): 9.5 (O: -120 | U: -102)
A’s at Red Sox picks and predictions
Prediction
Red Sox 5, A’s 3
Moneyline.
PASS.
The Red Sox (-230) will prevail and take the series, but there is no way I’m going to pay all that juice. I’ll keep my wager for the run line.
Run line/Against the spread
BET RED SOX -1.5 (-114).
The Red Sox have been a better road team (29-17) than at Fenway (21-24) this season. They are 6-5-3 in home series and haven’t won one since mid-June, but this is where that drought ends. They can’t lose an opportunity like this against a bottom-5 team.
Houck deserves to have a better record, but he has suffered a lot of hard luck losses. He has allowed 2 runs or less in 3 of his last 4 starts, all of which ended in no-decisions. He also has allowed 2 runs or less in 8 of his last 10 starts.
Meanwhile, the road has been rough for Medina especially over his last 3 starts. He is 0-2 with a 5.79 ERA (14 IP, 9 ER) in those 3 outings.
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Over/Under
PASS with a slight lean to Under 9.5 (-102) because of the solid pitching on the mound. However, I’m not going to bet it. The Over/Under is 5-5 in the last 10 head-to-head meetings between these 2 teams dating back to last summer.
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