Take Under In Rangers Vs Red Sox

Rangers vs. Red Sox, 7:10 ET

Can you believe we are almost at the All-Star Break? It is amazing that the season is already halfway over and the mid-summer classic is almost here. The stories this year have been a lot of fun as well with certain teams performing well beyond expectations, and then others drastically underperforming. I’m looking forward to a solid second half of baseball, but before we get to that, let’s get to a play in the Rangers vs. Red Sox.

The Rangers are one of the most surprising teams in baseball this season. Even with injuries they are absolutely cruising. Don’t get me wrong, they are still being chased by the Astros, and to a slightly less degree, the Angels and Mariners are also on their heels. The Rangers are the best-hitting team in all of baseball and has one of the best run differentials in the entire game. The Rangers are being highlighted during the All-Star Game with four starters in the infield and a reserve outfielder. They also have Nathan Eovaldi in as one of the pitchers for the team. Until recently, it looked like Jon Gray, tonight’s starter, would make the All-Star team. Gray had three solid starts in June and two where he looked like the Gray that pitched in Colorado. He hasn’t gotten all that much run support in four of his past five starts. Over those four games, he has been given five runs. He’s been significantly better on the road allowing just nine earned runs over 40.2 road innings. Justin Turner has had success against him, but the other four hitters with experience against him haven’t been that good.

The Red Sox are essentially the definition of average this season. They are at exactly .500 right now and aren’t significantly better on the road than they are at home this year. They have won three of their past five games but did drop the opener of this series to the Rangers. Their pitching staff is probably the biggest problem for this squad, which is a bit disappointing. I suppose that was probably the expectation for the team either way as they’ve spent more time investing in hitting than pitching right now. One pitcher that is working out for them is tonight’s starter, Brayan Bello. So far, he has a 3.08 ERA and has risen to just about any challenge. His home ERA isn’t that much higher than his road ERA, but his night ERA is almost a full run lower than his overall ERA. He has turned in five straight quality starts. Rangers hitters have only gotten one hit against them in 14 at-bats.

I think the teams could both have a legitimate shot at winning the game, and the books feel that way as well with a -110 line on both sides. I do like the under in this game. 10 runs seem a bit high with Bello on the mound and how good Gray has been on the road. I’ll take the under and maybe sprinkle the Red Sox to win the game.

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