There was a lot of emotion in the building on Friday, as the Boston Red Sox and Houston Astros faced off in their first game after the trade deadline. Carlos Correa found himself back in an Astros uniform, taking the spot of former teammate Alex Bregman, now calling Fenway home. And because the baseball gods have a sense of humor, here’s how his first at-bat went:
It was a close-fought contest, as are many games between playoff-hopeful teams. The Red Sox ultimately prevailed in extra innings, getting the walk-off hit from Rookie of the Year candidate Roman Anthony:
If we’re lucky, Saturday’s game will be just as exciting. The Red Sox are -115 favorites on the moneyline on DraftKings Sportsbook. The over/under is set at 9.5 runs. Let’s dig into an Astros-Red Sox prediction and pick.
Astros vs. Red Sox prediction, pick
On paper, this could be a rough pitching matchup.
The Astros, bogged down with pitching injuries, trot out rookie Colton Gordon. The 26-year-old left-hander has struggled out of the gate, pitching to a 4.74 ERA in 13 trips to the mound. And the underlying numbers are not a fan. He won’t overwhelm you with stuff, and isn’t missing bats or keeping balls on the ground. Being a fly-ball left hander pitching half his games in Daikin Park is a rough equation. Right-handed hitters can just take aim at the Crawford Boxes and tee off.
And he’s not the pitcher most down on his luck in this game. Walker Buehler signed a one-year prove-it deal in the offseason, looking to rehab his value after injuries and inefficacy derailed his Dodgers career. It seems all he’s proving is that his time in this league is nearing a close. Buehler’s 5.24 expected ERA is a ninth-percentile mark in the league. He’s walking more batters than ever, and may not be in the rotation by the end of the year.
The total in this game is high. But, despite what you may have seen on Friday, these offenses have impressed more often than not. Boston can crush any day of the week, and Houston has more than enough to put the hurt on Buehler, even with all of their injuries. It’s going to be a double-digit day on Saturday.
