Athletics vs Red Sox Series Preview: Boston Still Alive in Wild Card Race

The Athletics vs Red Sox series preview has the Oakland’s visiting Boston for a three-game series beginning on Friday. The Red Sox are very much alive in the wild card race. The A’s have the worst team in the major leagues and are -236 runs on the season. That’s just in 89 games.

The Athletics vs Red Sox standings show both teams in last place in their respective divisions. But the similarities end there. The Red Sox can play baseball. The Athletics cannot. Oakland is 25-64 on the season and is just as inept at home as one the road. The A’s are dead last in hitting with a team batting average of .220. As a result, Oakland has scored fewer runs than any MLB team this season.

As bad as Oakland’s hitting has been, the pitching may be even worse. Oakland has a team ERA of 6.00, which ranks last in MLB and has 14 saves in 29 attempts. So on those rare occasions where the A’s are in a position to get a win, the bullpen is just as likely to give the game away as it is to shut down the opponents a preserve the victory.

The Red Sox are 44-43. Boston has been consistent, going 22-22 at home and 22-21 on the road. The Red Sox should have a better home field advantage than that. Boston is No. 4 in team batting average and No. 8 in runs scored, so offense hasn’t been much of a problem.

It’s the Boston pitching staff that has let the team down at times. The Red Sox are No. 20 in team ERA. The closers have done a good job, with the Sox converting 24 of 32 save attempts.

Friday’s Game

The Athletics vs Red Sox series preview is showing Luis Medina to get the start for Oakland against Brennan Bernardino. Bernardino has primarily come in from the bullpen. This will be just his second start of the season. But he won’t pitch more than an inning or two, so it’s essentially a bullpen game for the Red Sox.

Medina is just 2-7 with a 6.36 ERA. Oakland is 1-7 when he starts, as one of his two wins came in relief. The A’s score 2.5 runs when he starts and allow 7.12 runs per game. The Red Sox are -230 and the total is 10.5-over (-110/-110). If you like the Red Sox, the way to go here could be the run line, where Boston is -1.5 (-115). The MLB predictions show Oakland has only lost by a single run once when Medina starts and Boston should win by at least two runs if the pitching staff does its job.

Saturday’s Game

The Athletics vs Red Sox series preview has Paul Blackman scheduled to face Boston’s James Paxton in this one. At 1-1 with a 4.50 ERA, Blackburn could be considered the ace of the Oakland pitching staff. That’s scary. The A’s are 3-4 when he starts. Three of those four losses have been by one run, so the A’s are 6-1 on the run line when he starts.

Paxton is having a good season, owning a 4-1 record with a 2.70 ERA. The Red Sox are just 4-5 when he starts, however, losing all four games in which he didn’t get a decision. Paxton is going to be a huge favorite in this game. The A’s on the run line might not be the worst play, especially if the baseball scores hold up and the A’s lose a single run again.

Sunday’s Game

Left-hander JP Sears will start for Oakland, while the Red Sox haven’t named a starting pitcher for the series finale. With the All-Star Break beginning after the game, the Red Sox could choose to go with another bullpen game. That may not be determined until after Friday’s game when Boston can see how many arms it was forced to use. Kutter Crawford has followed Paxton in the rotation and is a possibility.

Sears hasn’t pitched all that bad, but is saddled with a 1-6 record and a 4.09 ERA. The A’s are 5-12 when he starts this MLB season. Boston is 14-10 against left-handed starters, scoring 4.96 runs per game. At home, the Sox are 8-4 when facing a left-handed starter, but have dropped three of their last four. Sears won his last outing and hasn’t won back-to-back starts all season.

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