Red Sox vs Phillies Odds - Boston's hot streak to end in Philly
The Red Sox vs Phillies odds this weekend confirm that the schedule-making gods keep giving us sports betting lines from heaven. Both the BoSox and Phillies led their respective divisions through Wednesday, so there’s a decent chance that we could see these two teams meet in the Fall Classic. Let’s preview the weekend’s pitching matchups.
Red Sox vs Phillies odds – possible World Series preview
- Jon Lester’s road woes will continue
- Philly’s power bats will give Dice-K headaches
- No one can stop Josh Beckett right now
Friday, June 12, 7:05 p.m. ET
Jon Lester (5-5, 5.09) vs Joe Blanton (4-3, 5.46)
Promising lefthander Jon Lester faces one of the toughest tests of his budding career when he travels to Philadelphia to face the powerful bats of the defending champs. He has one career trip to Citizen’s bank park, and it was successful – seven scoreless innings and a win. However, that’s a small sample, and Lester is a much worse MLB betting pick on the road this season (6.14 ERA) than he is at home (4.06). He has been borderline dominant of late, allowing one earned run in three of four starts, but two of those performances came at home.
Phillies lefty Joe Blanton has been brutal at home this season, but he handles the Red Sox well over his career (3-2, 3.75) and he keeps the ball in the park against them, allowing just three homers in over 50 innings. Two of those bombs were from David Ortiz, and we all know how his season is going. This should be a high-scoring game, and you should go with the more powerful Phillies on Friday night.
MLB betting pick: Phillies
Saturday, June 13, 7:05 p.m. ET
Daisuke Matsuzaka (1-4, 7.33) vs Antonio Bastardo (2-0, 2.45)
Page 14 of the “How NOT to Break Dice-K out of his slump” manual says “Send him to the hitter’s park in Philadelphia and have him face power-hitting lefties Ryan Howard, Chase Utley and Raul Ibanez.” Gulp. Dice-K will be back, but he hasn’t shown any signs of a turnaround, so those who bet on sports may want to avoid Boston again in Saturday’s Red Sox vs Phillies odds.
All-Name team rookie Antonio Bastardo makes his home debut and the lefty will be in tough against patient, powerful righty bats like Jason Bay and Kevin Youkilis, but I think he’ll get the run support he needs. Go with the Phillies again – and pick over the total again – at your offshore sportsbook.
MLB betting pick: Phillies
Sunday, June 14, 1:35 p.m. ET
Josh Beckett (7-3, 3.77) vs J.A. Happ (4-0, 2.98)
J.A. Happ has been a pleasant surprise for Phillies fans but bettors beware: his home ERA is double his road ERA and he’s already coming back to Earth. In his last three starts, he’s walked nine batters and allowed three homers. He also faced the Nationals, Padres and banged up Mets offenses, so the Red Sox will be a different test for him.
Josh Beckett is absolutely dialed in right now; in his last four starts, he has just one earned run over 28.2 innings. Even against the potent Phillies lineup, he’s 8-3 in his career. He may serve up a homer or two – Chase Utley has his number – but he’ll also miss a ton of bats. Boston will end the Red Sox vs Phillies odds on a high note.
MLB betting pick: Red Sox
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Before his arm flamed out, Dale “Skip” Lalonde was famous for his high-90s heat and power at the plate. He retired young but never turned his back on baseball, earning the nickname “Skip” for his high-school coaching prowess. A true student of the game, he loves crunching the numbers when he handicaps baseball. Email Comments@BetOnline.com.
