2012 Braves vs Red Sox Betting Predictions
Atlanta has been struggling lately but they won the last two games of their series against the Yankees and are in the thick of it in the NL East race.
Atlanta Braves (37-32) vs Boston Red Sox (35-33)
Friday June 22
Fenway Park – Boston, MA
7:10PM
Moneyline: Boston -160, Atlanta +150
O/U: 9.5
PITCHING MATCHUP: Braves RH Jair Jurrjens (0-2, 9.37 ERA) vs. Red Sox LH Jon Lester (4-4, 4.53)
Atlanta
Going from New York to Boston is no easy feat, especially given the mood of the club is down due to the loss of Beachy from the rotation. If they can continue to get quality starts in his absence than this team should be able to compete to through the end of the year.
The Braves loss of Brandon Beachy forced the team to recall Jair Jurrjens from AAA. It is hard to imagine based on how he pitched earlier this season, but Jurrgens actually pitched in the All-Star game last year. I think you have to stay away from him until he shows some of his previous form though. His ERA was over 9 when he was sent down and he didn’t exactly dominate down on the farm. AAA hitters were hitting close to .300 against him. [dfads params=’groups=10&limit=1&return_javascript=0′]
Boston
Boston is on one of their best runs of the season having one four in a row heading into Thursday night against Miami. The Red Sox and the Blue Jays are dancing back and forth with last place in the AL East as many observers wait for the Sox to take off. They are not going to do so unless the pitching gets better. So far only Clay Buccholz is giving them a chance to win regularly and even that is only lately.
Jon Lester is a prime example of the Red Sox disappointing season. There have been glimpses of the quality he has produced in the past but the consistency has just not been there. For the last 4 years he has won 15 or more games but with only 4 so far this season that run might end. Without a Boston attack behind him that still puts runs on the board he might not even have those.
O/U Pick: Under
Score Prediction: Boston 6 – Atlanta 2