Red Sox Enter Season As 2015 World Series Favorites In American League
After finishing the 2014 season in the American League East basement, the Boston Red Sox open the 2015 campaign leading all AL teams at 10-1 on the odds to win the World Series at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
The Red Sox struggled in 2014, finishing the season with just 71 wins and ending up 25 games back of the division-leading Baltimore Orioles — after picking up their third World Series title in 10 years in 2013.
However, in addition to sporting strong World Series odds, the Red Sox also are pegged as strong 2-1 favorites to return to the top of the AL East standings and sit alongside the Seattle Mariners at 11-2 on the odds to win the AL pennant.
Red Sox players also are well represented in player props betting at the sportsbooks.
David Ortiz, who had 35 home runs and 104 RBIs in 2014, is projected to remain productive at the plate, albeit with smaller numbers. The betting line on Big Papi’s regular-season home run total is pegged at 26.5, with the OVER sporting moneyline odds of 20-21 and the UNDER accompanied by 4-5 odds.
The betting line on the 2013 World Series MVP’s RBIs total sits at 89.5, with money line odds of 20-23 on both the OVER and the UNDER.
Third baseman Pablo Sandoval, who joined the Red Sox as a free agent in the offseason after winning three World Series titles in the last five years with the San Francisco Giants, is expected to continue producing consistent offensive numbers in 2015 with Boston. The betting line on Sandoval’s 2015 home run total is set at 15.5, following a season in which he went yard on 16 occasions and finished with a solid .279 batting average. The line on Sandoval’s batting average this season is set at .280, with both the OVER and the UNDER accompanied by 20-23 moneyline odds.
Rick Porcello leads all Red Sox pitchers in player props betting at the sportsbooks. The MLB betting line on Porcello’s regular-season win total sits at 12.5, with 20-21 moneyline odds on the OVER and 4-5 odds on the UNDER, while oddsmakers peg both Wade Miley and Clay Buchholz at 11.5 wins, and Justin Masterson at 10.5 wins.
Thumbnail photo via Kim Klement/USA TODAY Sports Images
