Red Sox Continue West Coast Road Trip With Four-Game Set Vs. Mariners
The Boston Red Sox will continue a seven-game West Coast road trip in Seattle on Thursday night when they meet the Mariners in the first of a four-game weekend set as slim +110 moneyline underdogs at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
The Red Sox kicked off their current road swing by taking two of three games from the Oakland Athletics, wrapping up the series with a 2-0 victory on Wednesday night.
Boston is now 3-1 in its last four outings after dropping seven of eight games, but it remains tied with the Baltimore Orioles for fourth place in the American League East standings. The Red Sox sit 4 1/2 games back of the first-place New York Yankees.
The Sox face a Mariners squad that has begun to show signs of life after a slow start. Seattle has now picked up wins in four of its last five games, improving it to 15-18, good for third in the AL West.
However, early-season struggles have impacted the Mariners’ World Series odds, which currently sit at 25-1 after they opened the season at 12-1 on those futures.
The Mariners also have struggled in recent contests against Boston, going 1-5 in six meetings with the Red Sox last season.
Joe Kelly is expected to be on the hill for Boston in Thursday night’s Red Sox vs. Mariners betting matchup at Safeco Field. Kelly picked up losses in each of his last two starts, dropping him to 1-2 on the season with a 6.35 ERA.
Cuban lefty Roenis Elias is expected to get the start for Seattle. Elias has an 0-1 record after three starts, but owns a respectable 3.86 ERA.
The Red Sox return home to Fenway Park on Tuesday for a pair of series against AL West opponents, starting with three games against Texas Rangers followed by a weekend set against the Los Angeles Angels.
Like the Mariners, both the Rangers and the Angels have struggled to play .500 ball, providing the Red Sox with the opportunity to make up ground in the AL East standings and on the World Series betting lines.
The Red Sox enter the weekend with 20-1 World Series odds, putting them well behind their season-opening odds of 10-1.
The Los Angeles Dodgers continue to lead the way as World Series betting favorites with 11-2 odds, closely followed by the St. Louis Cardinals and the defending AL champion Kansas City Royals, who are deadlocked at 15-2, and the preseason favorite Washington Nationals, who continue to hang tough at 8-1.
Thumbnail photo via Kelley L Cox/USA TODAY Sports Images
