The Boston Red Sox will be searching for their first win on their current seven-game road trip when they hit the field in Arlington on Thursday for the opener of a four-game weekend series against the Texas Rangers as MLB moneyline underdogs.
Boston’s struggles have continued this week as it lost three straight games to the streaking Minnesota Twins. The series sweep at the hands of the Twins dropped Boston to 2-6 in its last eight games and into a virtual tie with the Toronto Blue Jays for last place in the American League East standings.
Boston’s bats remained quiet in Minnesota, producing just seven total runs during the three-game set. While hurler Clay Buchholz threw 7 1/3 solid innings in Monday’s contest, allowing just two earned runs, once again he failed to get the necessary offensive support in a 2-1 loss.
Starters Joe Kelly and Rick Porcello were disappointing in their subsequent outings, giving up a combined 13 earned runs to push the club’s ERA to a feeble 4.55.
Boston enters Thursday night’s Red Sox vs. Rangers betting matchup at Globe Life Park with just three wins in its last nine road games against Texas, but the Red Sox managed to take two of three from the Rangers in their most recent visit to Arlington in May 2014.
The Rangers head into the weekend looking to bounce back from a 12-3 beating by the Indians in Cleveland on Wednesday. The loss ended a seven-game winning streak that moved Texas back into contention in the AL West following a brutal start to the season.
However, the Rangers still remain 6 1/2 games back of the high-flying Houston Astros in the division standings.
Despite their strong May, in which they are 16-10, the Rangers have yet to gain any momentum on the odds to win the World Series at sportsboks monitored by OddsShark.com, languishing well back of the favorites at 66-1.
The Los Angeles Dodgers continue to lead the way at 6-1 on the World Series futures ahead of their weekend series with the St. Louis Cardinals, who join the Kansas City Royals at 15-2 on that odds list.
The Washington Nationals, who have reclaimed the top spot in the National League East by winning nine of their last 11 games, remain the Dodgers’ closest competition on the World Series betting odds at 13-2, while the Chicago Cubs and Astros have closed the gap on the betting favorites with 12-1 and 14-1 odds, respectively.
Thumbnail photo via Winslow Townson/USA TODAY Sports Images
