BetUS MLB betting odds: Boston -145, Oakland +125; Total 8.5

The Boston Red Sox (61-48) and the Oakland Athletics (53-54) will each try to avoid losing their fourth straight game when the two American league teams get together on Friday night at 7:05 PM ET at Fenway Park (natural turf) in Boston.

baseball

Justin Duchscherer (10-7, 2.37 ERA) takes the mound for the A's, while fellow right-hander Tim Wakefield (6-8, 3.94 ERA) is the starter for the Red Sox.

At BetUS online sportsbook, Boston is listed as a -145 favorite (Oakland is +125), with a total of 8.5 runs (the Over is -125, while the Under is +105).

Here are some of the MLB Baseball betting trends as they relate to this matchup:

* OAK has lost six of its last seven games
* OAK has played 10 of its last 14 games UNDER the total
* OAK has lost seven of its last eight road games
* BOS has lost five of its last six games
* BOS has played four of its last five games OVER the total
* BOS has lost five of its last six home games

In the HEAD-TO-HEAD sports wagering trends:

* OAK has won four of the last six meetings
* Four of the last six meetings have gone UNDER the total
* BOS has won 17 of the last 24 meetings as the home team

The Red Sox need a life raft. After giving up 16 hits in a 9-2 defeat at Fenway against the torrid Los Angeles Angels on Wednesday night, they have lost five games out of six, are under assault from the rear as the Yankees try to overtake them in the American League East, and trail the Tampa Bay Rays by three games. Plus, they said goodbye to future Hall of Famer Manny Ramirez on Thursday, dealing him off before the deadline to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

When the Angels came into Fenway and blew away the Sox, they created even more distance between themselves and the Oakland Athletics. Oakland is now 14.5 games in back of the Angels and are back in third place in the American League West, two games behind the surprising Texas Rangers.

Justin Duchscherer will try to get the ship going in the right direction for the A's on Friday. J-Duck's 2.37 ERA currently leads the American League, and was just brilliant in his only start against the Red Sox, shutting them out on one hit over eight innings on May 24. In what has been an incredible season that is worthy of very serious Cy Young consideration, Duchscherer went his first 17 starts giving up more than two runs only ONCE. So he can be excused for blowing up just one time, as he did last time out against the Texas Rangers, giving up eight runs in six innings of work. Five of his last six starts have gone under the total, and his team has scored just 13 runs in those five starts.

Tim Wakefield did not have a good outing last time he faced the A's, as he was rocked for eight hits and eight runs in five innings. He's been reached a bit in his last two starts, giving up six runs to the Yankees six days ago, and on July 20 he was so-so in surrendering four runs in seven innings to the Angels. Prior to that, however, he went nine straight starts without giving up more than three runs. The Sox are 6-3 in Wakefield's nine starts at Fenway.

Duchscherer might just be the best pitcher in the American League this season, Inasmuch as the Red Sox seem in a little chaos right now, with the departure of their signature slugger, and losing games at home to boot, we have no problem taking a price here. It's Oakland as the +125 underdog in the BetUS Major League Baseball betting odds.

JAY'S PLAY: OAKLAND (+125)

Go to the BetUS sportsbook today and take a swing at Major League Baseball online betting.