It’s another full day of MLB action with every single team active at some point on the Saturday slate. As the early games wind down, the afternoon slate picks up as the San Francisco Giants host the Boston Red Sox for the second outing of a three-game series. As Rafael Devers faces his former team again, there’s no shortage of drama in this one.
Here’s a Giants vs. Red Sox prediction and pick for the Saturday special with first pitch scheduled for 4:05 p.m. EST.
Giants vs. Red Sox prediction, preview
San Francisco Giants
The Giants lost last night’s outing against Boston and dropped to 42-34 on the campaign, though they still sit second place among a highly competitive NL West. After Friday’s result, they’re looking to bounce back and snap something of a cold streak at 4-6 across their last 10 games. After losing their last two series, there’s clearly work to be done in the Bay.
At 24th in AVG, 23rd in OPS and 17th in runs scored this season, the Giants looked to jump-start their offensive production by trading a handful of prospects to the Red Sox for star Rafael Devers earlier in the week. In his first game against his former team, Devers went 0-for-5, surely far from the start he wanted. However, with a .267 AVG and .885 OPS, watch for him to bounce back sooner rather than later. The rest of the lineup mustered seven hits via five players last night, including multi-hit games from Heliot Ramos and Casey Schmitt. If Devers finds his stride in San Francisco, the Giants should certainly have a shot at revenge.
Boston Red Sox
Unlike the Giants, the Red Sox have caught fire at the right time lately. They’re 8-2 across their last 10 games, 12-5 in June and 40-37 overall on the season. Some questions remain about their chances of keeping this up long-term, especially after dealing Devers, but they’re certainly a fun team for the moment.
Boston falls 14th in AVG as well as sixth in OPS and runs scored this year, though these numbers may fall without their old star around. To be fair, there were no such issues last night as the Red Sox mustered 11 hits from six different players en route to the win. With Jarren Duran now leading the team, a former No. 1 prospect in Roman Anthony recently called up, Wilyer Abreu playing well and Alex Bregman waiting to return from injury, they really could make some noise come October if the pitching staff sees improvement.
Giants vs. Red Sox pick, best bet
DraftKings Sportsbook lists the Giants as -119 favorites on the Moneyline today, but the margin remains slim since the Red Sox come in at -102 on the Moneyline. The run total sits at eight for this contest.
Right-hander Landen Roupp starts for the Giants with a 3.99 ERA, 1.46 WHIP and 63 strikeouts across 70.0 innings of work this year. As for the Red Sox, righty Brayan Bello gets the starting nod on Saturday with a 3.49 ERA, 1.47 WHIP and 45 punchouts in 59.1 innings on the season. Neither are stud pitchers by any means, so the offenses should be on display today.
I do admittedly like Bello to record 3+ walks in today’s outing. The fourth-year hurler has allowed 28 walks across his 11 starts this season, just a few shy of three per game. With a high 4.25 BB/9 this year and a career 3.39 BB/9, I think grabbing this line at +155 odds presents great value on DraftKings Sportsbook. Bello has crossed the three-walk mark in five starts, so there’s a pretty solid hit rate to depend on here.
Best bet: Brayan Bello 3+ walks (+155)
Click the odds to tail!
