It would be nearly impossible to have a more dominant start to a series than what the Red Sox have put together over the past 48 hours. After a 7-0 victory on Monday, Boston called-up rookie Connelly Early to start Tuesday’s tilt in Sacramento. The left-hander was amazing, leading the Red Sox to another shutout win against the Athletics.
Can Boston complete the sweep this afternoon? Will the A’s ever score again? Let’s preview this matinee matchup with the help of some odds and lines on the DraftKings Sportsbook.
Red Sox vs. Athletics prediction, preview
It will be a battle of inexperienced rookie pitchers on Wednesday afternoon, as Payton Tolle and Mason Barnett will square-off at Sutter Health Park, each with only two MLB starts under their belt.
Tolle is by far the more notable prospect, having darted up Top 100 lists after throwing so successfully across three minor league levels in 2025. Remember, Tolle was drafted in the second-round last year. He started this campaign in High-A. The fact that he’s now involved in a playoff race is pretty wild. That said, in 91.2 innings in the Red Sox’s system, Tolle managed a 2.75 FIP and 133 strikeouts. I’m not sure he had much more to prove in Triple-A or elsewhere. The 22-year-old was fantastic in his MLB debut, yet struggled his last time out, walking four and giving up five earned runs over three innings in Arizona.
Tolle will be the third consecutive southpaw that Boston will start in this series, which feels like exactly the way you want to attack this Athletics lineup. By wRC+, the A’s have only been slightly worse on the whole against LHPs in 2025; yet the drastic splits of Nick Kurtz, Lawrence Butler and Tyler Soderstrom tell me all I need to know. Kurtz leads the league in wRC+ since the beginning of May (184). He’s no slouch. However, he’s slashing just .182/.256/.355 versus lefties. That’s such a massive difference in offensive potency.
Barnett has also had his hiccups so far at the MLB level, with nine earned runs allowed and five walks in his first nine innings of work with the Athletics. A former third-round pick in 2022, Barnett was a key piece of the return package in the Lucas Erceg trade. The hard-throwing RHP hasn’t had many positive results in 2025, though, as Barnett was rocking an ugly 6.13 ERA at Triple-A before his call-up. Certainly keep in mind that the PCL is a notoriously hitter-friendly league, but it’s hard to imagine Barnett shutting down a talented Red Sox lineup on Wednesday afternoon, even one that’s missing Roman Anthony (oblique).
Red Sox vs. Athletics pick, best bet
Best Bet: Red Sox ML (-132)
Payton Tolle is the rookie starter that I have more faith in and Boston has simply outclassed the A’s in the first two games of this series. Why would today be any different?
