It’s an AL East showdown as the Baltimore Orioles get ready to take on the Boston Red Sox. Boston’s season-opening series didn’t go as planned against the Rangers, losing 3 out of 4, and they’ll be looking to get something going in this series. As for the Orioles, they were probably hoping to win their series against the Blue Jays, but they split 2-2 and will be looking to start this one off on the right foot. Both teams have a lot of talent to compete in the AL East this season, but for this matchup I think the Orioles will take game 1 in this series.
Sean Newcomb was officially added to the Red Sox roster last week and will open the season as their fifth starter. He had a tough time last season, posting an ERA of 6.30 in just 7 games, but in spring training he did well — 0.63 ERA in 5 games and striking out 13. For the Orioles, they will be sending Cade Povich to the mound. He went 3-9 in 2024 n with a 5.20 ERA in 16 games. Povich had a decent spring training, compiling a 3.07 ERA in 4 games while striking out 15 in 14.2 innings. This matchup is hard to gauge based on pitching simply because Povich did not have a great 2024 season, and neither did Newcomb. However, the hitting difference between these 2 team is big enough for me to lean with the home team. So far this season the Orioles are 4th in OPS (.863) and have belted 10 homers, averaging 6 runs per game. As for the Red Sox, they sit 23rd in OPS (.583), hitting just 3 homers and averaging 2.8 runs per game. The Orioles are hitting the ball way better right now than the Red Sox, and I think Newcomb is going to struggle in his season opener. Give me the Orioles to win this game against their division rivals, making Baltimore money line my best bet of the day.
Red Sox vs Orioles prediction: Baltimore (-150) available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.
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