The Oakland Athletics will take on the Boston Red Sox this evening in game two of their three game series. The first pitch is scheduled for 10:05pm ET at McAfee Coliseum in Oakland, California. Boston will try to bounce back from the 8-2 beatdown they experienced last night in the Bay Area.
Boston Red Sox vs Oakland Athletics MLB Tips at SBGglobal.com have the Red Sox listed as a -135 moneyline favorite. The game total is set at eight for tonight's battle with the over favored at -115 odds.
Yesterday Boston continued their rough start to the season, losing 8-2 to Athletics and falling to 2-5 on the year. They are currently in last place in the American League East and three and a half games back of the division leading Blue Jays.
Jon Lester, who many speculate will be a Cy Young contender this season, had his second horrific outing of the year. Lester got banged around for 10 hits and six earned runs in six innings of work, giving him a 9.00 ERA and 1.82 WHIP in two 2009 starts.
Oakland, who is now 3-4, had 12 hits in the win, including two home runs (Jack Cust and Nomar Garciaparra). New acquisition Matt Holliday went three for four with a triple and two RBI. Starter Dallas Braden went six innings for the Athletics, allowing six hits and two earned runs.
The Red Sox will look to Daisuke Matsuzaka tonight to help them get on track. Dice-K had an inauspicious start to the season, losing 4-3 to the Rays while giving up nine hits and four earned runs in five innings. He is 2-1 in four career starts versus the A's with a 2.55 ERA and 31 strikeouts.
The Athletics will start 25 year old right-hander Dana Eveland. Eveland pitched six innings, giving up three earned runs in a 6-4 win against the Angels on April 8th. He has one career start against the Red Sox and it was certainly a forgettable one. The Olympia, Washington native worked two innings in a 12-2 loss at Fenway Park last August. He gave up eight hits and nine earned runs to finish the start with a 40.50 ERA.
SBGglobal.com's Boston Red Sox vs Oakland Athletics MLB Tips:
Boston Red Sox -1.5 (+115), Over 8 (-115), -135 (Moneyline)
Oakland Athletics +1.5 (-135), Under 8 (-105), +115 (Moneyline)
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