The Boston Red Sox (56-48) and San Francisco Giants (57-48) close out a 3-game set at Oracle Park Sunday. First pitch is at 4:05 p.m. ET. Let’s analyze BetMGM Sportsbook’s lines around the Red Sox vs. Giants odds and make our expert MLB picks and predictions for the best bets.
Season series: Tied 1-1
The 1st 2 games of the series have ended in 3-2 finishes – one for each side. The Red Sox lost the Saturday slate to snap a 5-game winning streak. They are 14-6 over the last 20 games to pull within 2 1/2 games of a Wild-Card spot in the AL.
The Giants have won 3 of 4, but are just 3-7 over the last 10 games. They still hold a 1/2-game lead on the top Wild-Card spot in the NL. The American League has given them fits at 14-17 this year. They are slightly better at home at 29-23 as opposed to 28-25 on the road.
Red Sox at Giants projected starters
LHP Brennan Bernardino vs. LHP Scott Alexander
Bernardino (3-2, 3.86 ERA) makes his 5th start and 32nd appearance. He has a 1.00 WHIP, 2.1 BB/9 and 10.0 K/9 in 35 innings.
- In 4 starts as the opener this year: 0-0, 1.29 ERA, 0.71 WHIP, 10 K in 7 IP
- Home/road splits: 0-0, 2.30 ERA, 0.89 WHIP, 9.2 K/9 in 15 2/3 IP on road; 1-0, 2.33 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 10.7 K/9 in 19 1/3 IP at home
Alexander (6-1, 3.41 ERA) makes his 3rd start and 35th appearance. He has a 1.03 WHIP, 1.9 BB/9 and 5.0 K/9 in 29 innings.
- In 2 starts as the opener this year: 1.2 IP, 2 ER, 2 H, 0 BB, 1 K
- Home/road splits: 4-0, 4.35 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, 4.4 K/9 in 10 1/3 IP at home; 2-1, 2.89 ERA, 0.91 WHIP, 5.3 K/9 in 18 2/3 IP on road
Red Sox at Giants odds
Provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 9:17 a.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): Red Sox -125 (bet $125 to win $100) | Giants +105 (bet $100 to win $105)
- Run line (RL)/Against the spread (ATS): Red Sox -1.5 (+135) | Giants +1.5 (-160)
- Over/Under (O/U): 8 (O: -115 | U: -105)
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Red Sox at Giants picks and predictions
Prediction
Red Sox 6, Giants 3
Moneyline
This game will be a battle of the bullpens, and both teams sport good ones. Boston’s is 6th in MLB with a 3.69 ERA, and the Giants’ pen is 7th at 3.72. Both closers may be iffy for Sunday. Giants closer Camilo Doval threw 25 pitches Saturday. Kenley Jansen has pitched 2 straight days for Boston, but he combined to throw 10 pitches altogether.
All in all, I like the RED SOX -125 more here. They haven’t allowed more than 3 runs in the last 5 games.
Run line/Against the spread
The Red Sox are 26-25 on the road this year, but they are 29-22 on the RL away from Fenway. They figure to have the early advantage with the better opener and hit .262 vs. lefties while the Giants hit just .243 against them.
I’ll take the RED SOX -1.5 (+135).
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Over/Under
Boston is 3-7 O/U over the last 10, and the Giants are 2-8. Both games in the series have gone Under. However, in this bullpen game with some questions in the back end, I’m feeling some trends could be broken. The Over is 6-4 in the last 10 meetings between the teams.
I’ll take the OVER 8 (-115) in this bullpen game for both sides.
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