Red Sox vs Angels Prediction
Last Seeded Angels Face Off Against First Seeded Red Sox for Three-Game Series
The Los Angeles Angels will travel up to Boston and battle the Red Sox for three games. The first matchup will see Griffin Canning for the Angels and Nick Pivetta for the Red Sox. Each pitcher has been consistent for their respective ball clubs.
Both teams have been extremely consistent offensively. Boston owns the third-best batting average in the league at .258, and the Angels are right behind with a 2.54 batting average, good for fourth in the majors.
Boston has dropped their past three games before getting a win against the A’s Thursday night, and the Angels lost 2 out of 3 games to the Astros. Each team needs to secure a win Friday night.
Los Angeles Angels Pitching Staff Struggling Mightily
The Los Angeles Angels are 3-7 in their last ten games and have lost their past two outings. Their overall play has not been consistent all year and needs to be better if they want to compete with the AL East leader Boston Red Sox for three straight games.
The Angels have been the worst pitching team in the league, with a team ERA of 5.23. They’re still looking for a true number one starter, and that could potentially be Griffin Canning. Canning has been pitching great the past two games, only allowing 2 runs in 11 innings.
Mike Trout was out of the lineup on Wednesday and was probably a big reason why they were only able to score 1 run. Mike Trout has been, well, Mike Trout and is third in all of baseball in batting average at .355. Shohei Ohtani has also been incredible all year long, launching 10 long-balls so far.
The Angels will need to get the bats going against Pivetta and the fiery Red Sox offense, or it could be a long night. They have drawn lots of attention with the release of Albert Pujols lately. They need to start winning games to prove if that was the right decision or not.
The Red Sox Offense Has Been Phenomenal
The Boston Red Sox come into the series leading the AL East with a record of 23-16, good for second best in all of the majors. Boston’s offense is just coming off of a game in which they scored 8 runs. They lit up Sean Manea of the Oakland Athletics for 7 runs in the first two innings.
J.D. Martinez and Xander Bogaerts continue their hot start to this season with three hits apiece. Bogaerts cranked a 2-run in the first-inning homer in the first inning to get things going for the Sox. Bobby Dalbec was also able to contribute with a two-run homer as well.
The opposing pitcher, Griffin Canning, is going for his third straight win, so we will see if Boston’s offense is able to continue playing great. Rafael Devers will be ready to see a right-handed pitcher after going 0-4 against lefty Manea yesterday.
Nick Pivetta has been Boston’s ace this year, with a record of 5-0 and a 3.19 ERA. Oakland has been solid on offense all year, so this could be a major test for Pivetta. The Red Sox are searching for a back-to-back win and starting the series against the A’s with a victory.
Pick And Prediction
The Red Sox are favored in this matchup, but I’m going to pick the Angels in this one. Mike Trout is bound to have a productive day at the plate, and the Angels have had a day of rest, unlike the Red Sox. The Angels are in need of a win and will produce in the end.
The Red Sox have come off of back-to-back games in which they scored 8 or more runs. I think Griffin Canning will be able to cool down Boston and hold them to under 3 runs, and secure the victory for the Angels.
This game will be shown on MLB Network at 7:10 P.M. Eastern time.
Pick: Angels
