Baseball Betting: Red Sox vs. Angels Odds & Pick: September 17th 2009

Boston Red Sox vs. Los Angeles Angels
Free Pick: Boston Red Sox -1.5 (+125 odds)
Thu September 17th 2009 7:10p
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These are two teams heading in opposite directions, as the Boston Red Sox have won seven straight games including the first two of this series, while the Los Angeles Angels have dropped four of their last five games.

Taken back further, the Red Sox are one of the hottest teams in baseball as they are now 20-7 in their last 27 games overall. Moreover, they are 52-21 here in Fenway Park, where they are winning their games by an average of 1.83 runs per game. This fact always makes Boston worth a look on the Run Line at home.

Josh Beckett is having his best season in a few years as he is 15-6 with a 3.82 ERA and 1.25 WHIP overall, and an even more impressive 9-1 with a 3.42 ERA and 1.05 WHIP at home. He also has 180 strikeouts in 193.1 innings this year, and the Red Sox as a team are 20-9 in all the games that he has started.

Meanwhile, Ervin Santana is a disappointing 7-8 while pitching for a winning cub that can score runs. That is what happens when you have a 5.52 ERA and a poor 1.55 WHIP in 115.2 innings. Granted, Santana has been pitching better lately, but he still rarely goes beyond six innings and he was rocked in two of his three career starts at Fenway.

Finally, Boston is averaging nearly six runs per game at home (5.95), so look for them to put up enough runs in support of Beckett for a Run Line victory.

MLB Free Pick: Red Sox -1.5 (+125)