Boston (24-27) at Oakland (20-33)
When: Friday, June 3rd 2022
Where: RingCentral Coliseum,
Oakland, CA
Time: 9:40 ET | TV: MLB.tv
Opening Odds: Boston -155/7
The struggling Oakland A’s wrap-up their 10-game homestand when they host the Boston Red Sox for the first of three games on Friday night. While the Boston Celtics are in town to take on the Bay Area’s Warriors for the NBA title, these teams are a long way from a championship, especially the hometown A’s. Oakland is 1-6 so far in their homestand including a three-game sweep at the hands of the Houston Astros, where the Athletics produced just six total runs. It’s really not a surprise that Oakland is this bad after giving away their best players over the last two seasons and fans are just looking towards the future. The lineup looks more like a Triple-A squad than a Major League one. The A’s are 29th in runs per game (3.38), 30th in OPS (.606) and 28th in home runs (34).
Meanwhile, there is some hope for the Red Sox, who are competing in the ultra-competitive American League East with Tampa Bay, Toronto and the New York Yankees. Boston may be 11.5 games out of first, but they’re just 3.5 games out of a wild card entering Thursday’s action. This is the first of a 10-game road trip for the Red Sox, who will go south after this series to take on the Angels before heading back up north to battle the Seattle Mariners. Boston showed some promise after scoring 33 runs in taking two of three from the Chicago White Sox, but have since split series with the Orioles and Reds – not very good teams. The Res Sox concluded their 3-4 homestand with a 7-1 win over the Reds on Wednesday. Oakland and Boston split their six meetings in 2021.
Pitchers: Red Sox – Nathan Eovaldi (2-2, 3.77) | Athletics – James Kaprielian (0-2, 5.93)
Nate Eovaldi gets the ball for Boston and is coming off his first career complete game in 211 starts last time out. Eovaldi limited the Orioles to seven hits and two earned runs in completing the contest with just 108 pitches. Eovaldi will be making his fifth career start at Oakland, where he’s gone 1-1 with a 3.74 ERA.
Oakland is 4-2 when James Kaprielian starts this season, but he’s been getting some good run support. Kaprielian carries a 5.93 ERA into this game and 7.71 at home. He’s been hit for nine runs over his last two starts covering 9 1/3 innings with three home runs allowed. Kaprielian is 1-1 with a 1.50 ERA in two career starts against Boston.
Boston isn’t exactly a powerhouse, but they should have no trouble getting back on track against a very poor Oakland team. Eovaldi comes in with some confidence and should have no trouble navigating this A’s lineup.
Check out who Bobby Babowski has on his Free MLB Picks page for today.
Pick: Red Sox -137
