Now that the MLB odds All Star celebration is over it’s time to get back to work. And for AL heavyweights like the Boston Red Sox and the Texas Rangers that means putting the nose to the grind stone and trying to lock down an AL Division title in the coming months ahead. These two teams have been two of the best in the MLB lines action and chances are both of them of them will be around when the baseball playoff betting action gets underway.
The Rangers (50-38) will enter this series as the AL West division leaders and owners of best record in the AL outside of the AL East. The Rangers entered the MLB odds All Star break on a major slide, losing 4 straight games but still managed to retain a 4.5 game lead over struggling Anaheim.
The Red Sox (51-37) have also struggled of late going juts 4-6 over their last ten games prior to the break in the MLB lines action. Despite having the third best record in baseball betting the team still finds itself 5.0 games out in the epic AL East battle as the this division has proven to loaded with talent year in and year out (Yankees 56-32; Rays 54-34).
Boston has some serious work to do if they want to climb back into serious MLB playoff betting contention and 5.0 is about as big a deficit as this team has faced in years coming out of the All Star break. Much of that has to do with a string of injuries suffered by this team and the likes AL MVP Dustin Pedroia, Josh Beckett, Dice K, Adrian Beltre and others have all been sidelined.
Unfortunately for the Sox many of their top players are still on the IR and the team will be sending Tim Wakefield (3-7, 5.22 ERA) to the mound for this MLB betting matchup. -Wakefield, the greatest knuckle-baller of his era has struggled mightily this season.
The Rangers on the other hand trot out their undefeated ace Tommy Hunter who’s a perfect 5-0 with a 2.34 ERA.
The only thing that gives the Sox a chance in this baseball betting matchup is the fact that Fenway is a rough place for opposing teams to play. But if Wakefield gets hit early the Rangers will win this game.