The Red Sox earned a series split on Sunday with the Mariners, as they took game four 9-3. It was another strong outing from Eduardo Rodriguez, who went six innings with nine strikeouts and allowed just two runs. Behind him the Red Sox bats came alive. Rafael Devers, Jackie Bradley Jr, and Xander Bogaerts all went deep and accounted for six of the team's nine runs while Andrew Benintendi and Mitch Moreland took care of the rest.
The Twins missed out on sweeping the Indians on Sunday as they lost 4-1 in Cleveland. Their only run came on an Eduardo Escobar single, while Jake Odorizzi struggled on the mound walking four in five innings and allowing four runs.
Chris Sale (LHP) Vs. Jose Berrios (RHP)
The Red Sox ace takes the ball today, but that is far from a guaranteed win for them this year. Sale is carrying a 6-4 record this year, and the Red Sox are just 8-7 during his starts, despite his impressive play. The big lefty has a 2.75 ERA, 129 strikeouts, and a 0.97 WHIP. He comes into today off an impressive game against the Orioles . He allowed just two hits, albeit four walks, and struck out nine in six innings to take the W.
Jose Berrios has been impressive in his third season in the Majors. He has two complete games, one for a shutout, to go along with career bests in ERA (3.51), WHIP (0.95), walk rate (1.5) and strikeout rate (9.1). He comes into today off a very good no-decision against the Tigers. He went six innings, allowing one run on a solo homer and punching out seven. Berrios hasn't faced the Red Sox and their powerful lineup yet though.
Projected lineups
Red Sox Lineup | Home Runs | Batting Average | On-Base Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|
Betts, RF | 18 | .340 | .419 |
Benintendi, LF | 12 | .299 | .383 |
Bogaerts, SS | 12 | .279 | .339 |
Martinez, DH | 22 | .315 | .388 |
Moreland, 1B | 10 | .276 | .347 |
Devers, 3B | 11 | .239 | .287 |
Nunez, 2B | 4 | .247 | .277 |
Vazquez, C | 2 | .215 | .258 |
Bradley Jr, CF | 4 | .184 | .280 |
Twins Lineup | Home Runs | Batting Average | On-Base Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|
Mauer, 1B | 1 | .278 | .394 |
Rosario, LF | 16 | .321 | .359 |
Escobar, 3B | 12 | .302 | .353 |
Dozier, 2B | 10 | .223 | .300 |
Grossman, RF | 2 | .234 | .321 |
Kepler, DH | 7 | .225 | .316 |
Adrianza, SS | 3 | .253 | .315 |
LaMarre, CF | 0 | .241 | .287 |
Wilson, C | 1 | .148 | .200 |
Who's hot, and who's not
JD Martinez and Andrew Benintendi have been the dynamic duo for Boston of late. In the last two weeks they have six homers and 11 RBI between them and are hitting .317 and .313 respectively. Christian Vazquez is also batting over .300 in that time span, while Xander Bogaerts has four homers. Mookie Betts and Mitch Moreland have been rather cold of late though, with just one homer between them and both are hitting .200 or lower in the last two weeks.
Eduardo Escobar and Eddie Rosario are powering the Twins right now. Escobar is hitting .449 in the last two weeks with two homers and 14 RBI while Rosario has a .340 average and three homers. The rest of the lineup is struggling though. Joe Mauer, Robbie Grossman, Logan Morrison, Max Kepler, and Brian Dozier have just three homers between them in the last two weeks and are all hitting .231 or lower, with Morrison, Kepler, and Dozier under .170.
Prediction
With the Twins lineup struggling and Boston in search of win #50 you'd think it would be a lock for the Red Sox to win tonight, but as I said earlier their record with Sale on the mound is very disappointing. It is hard to pick a sub .500 team over Sale, especially with only two in-form hitters, but the Red Sox can be very feast or famine on offense, so don't be surprised if the Twins swoop in and take the first game of this series.
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