Boston (31-20) at Baltimore (28-21)
When: Tuesday, May 31st 2016
Where: Camden Yards, Baltimore, MD
Time: 7:05 ET | TV: NESN, MASN
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The Boston Red Sox look to make it two-straight against the Baltimore Orioles when the two teams meet on Tuesday night at Camden Yards. Boston got three late-inning homeruns to turn a close game into a 7-2 triumph. The win puts the Red Sox two games clear of Baltimore in the American League East. Boston’s Steven Wright continued to impress with his third complete game of the season on Monday, giving the bullpen some extra rest after the Blue Jays wore them out over the weekend. Red Sox SS Xander Bogaerts went 2-for-4 on Monday to push his hitting streak to 23 games and lift his batting average to .354. David Ortiz has homered in each of his last three starts, pushing his season total to 14 and his league-leading RBI total to 47. Baltimore is one of the best slugging teams in the majors with 69 home runs but is having trouble pushing runs across over the last week-plus. The Orioles have lost six of their last eight are averaging 2.5 runs in those six losses.
Pitchers: Red Sox – Eduardo Rodriguez (2015: 10-6, 3.85 ERA) | Orioles – Kevin Gausman (0-2, 3.24)
Eduardo Rodriguez will make his first start of the season after going down with a knee injury during Spring Training and has sent Clay Buchholz to the bullpen. He surrendered three or fewer earned runs in 17 of his 21 starts during his 2015 rookie campaign. Rodriguez, who was acquired from Baltimore in a trade for Andrew Miller in 2014, struggled against his original organization with an 0-2 mark and a 4.20 ERA in three starts.
Kevin Gausman will take the mound for Baltimore still looking for his first win. He struggled through five innings at Houston on Thursday allowing three homeruns – matching his total from the first six starts. He was charged with four runs on five hits and one walk. Gausman has made 10 career appearances (five starts) against the Red Sox and owns a 2-1 record with a 3.12 ERA and 36 strikeouts in 34.2 total innings.
The Orioles are struggling to score runs right now and I can’t take a pitchers who hasn’t won a game yet. Rodriguez was terrific in his rookie season last year and I expect him to pick up where he left off. Remember, it wasn’t an arm injury that derailed him in Spring Training.
Pick: Red Sox +110
