The American League has seen a surprising number of slow starts from teams thought to be leading favorites. Of course there’s tons of baseball remaining in the 2021 season to not be overly concerned with the first 35 games but picks have been tougher to make with confidence. Oakland will be looking to break out the brooms when it faces Boston in the final game of a three-game series on Thursday night. The Athletics won the second game of the series in a 4-1 final on Wednesday. Boston has now lost three games in a row after its four-game winning streak last week.
Thursday, 13 May 2021, 7:10 PM EDT at Fenway Park
Oakland has been playing winning baseball since its six-game losing streak to open the season. The Athletics went on an MLB-best 13-game winning streak in April, propelling them to a 14-7 record. They have now won four of their last five games after beating Boston on Wednesday night. The lone loss during that stretch came against Tampa Bay on Sunday. Oakland bounced back with a pair of wins over Boston to open the series. Despite the nice record, the Athletics have not been good offensively. They are No. 26 in the MLB with a team batting average of .219.
Second baseman Jed Lowrie leads the team with 34 hits, including 10 doubles. Center fielder Ramon Laureano and left fielder Mark Canha each have 31 base knocks. They are currently sitting in first place in the American League West. Boston has been average on the mound, listed at No. 14 in the MLB in team ERA at 3.94. Left-handed pitcher Sean Manaea will make the start for Oakland on Thursday. He took a no-hitter into the eighth inning in his last start. Manaea is 3-0 with a 2.23 ERA across his last six starts.
Boston also had a long winning streak early in the season that propelled it to a nice record. The Red Sox won nine games in a row after starting the season with three losses against Baltimore. They won four more games last week, but they are now on a three-game skid. The Orioles won the final game of that series on Monday and Oakland has won the first two of this series. Boston is still atop the AL East, though. It has been paced by an offense that leads the MLB with a team batting average of .261.
Shortstop Xander Bogaerts leads Boston with 46 hits and a blazing hot .341 average. Left fielder J.D. Martinez has 44 hits, including a team-high 10 home runs. Center fielder Alex Verdugo has added 39 hits. They will be facing an Oakland pitching staff that is No. 16 in the MLB with a team ERA of 4.10. Right-handed pitcher Garrett Richards is going to make the start for Boston on Thursday. Richards is 2-0 with a 2.84 ERA over his last three starts after getting off to a rough start to the season. He is 3-4 with a 4.29 lifetime ERA in 14 starts against Oakland.
I will happily take a plus-money wager in this spot. Oakland has all the momentum right now, including their advantage in the pitching matchup. Manaea took a no-hitter into the eighth inning of his last start, so he will be very confident heading into Thursday’s game. Richards has been better of late, but he still had a shaky start to the season that can’t be ignored. Boston’s bats have been quieted by Oakland’s pitching staff during this series and I expect that to continue on Thursday.
MLB Pick: Athletics +101 at BetOnline