A’s vs. Red Sox (June 16): Boston bids for home sweep of overmatched Oakland

The Boston Red Sox have been one of MLB’s hottest teams recently, and they will look to continue that scorching stretch by sweeping the struggling Oakland Athletics Thursday afternoon at Fenway Park.

A three-game sweep of the A’s in Oakland was part of the start of Boston’s hot streak, which has seen them win 11 of 13 games and go from four games under .500 to five games over .500.

In this series, they have taken the first two games, bagging a 6-1 win in Tuesday’s opener and a 10-1 win in the middle game of the series Wednesday night.

In the series finale, Paul Blackburn will try to quiet Boston’s bats, while the ageless Rich Hill will face one of his many former teams.

Oakland Athletics vs. Boston Red Sox Betting Odds and Matchup Information

Matchup Information

• Matchup: Oakland A’s (21-43, 14-20 road, 5th in the AL West) vs. Boston Red Sox (34-29, 15-14 home, 4th in the AL East)
• Venue & Location: Fenway Park (Boston, Massachusetts)
• Date: Thursday, June 16, 2022
• Game Time: 1:35 p.m. Eastern Time
• TV Broadcast/Streaming Info: NBC Sports California (A’s), NESN (Red Sox), MLB Extra Innings/MLB.TV (subscription packages)

Athletics vs. Red Sox Pitching Matchup

• Oakland A’s: Paul Blackburn (2022: 12 starts, 5-2, 2.31 ERA)
• Boston Red Sox: Rich Hill (2022: 11 starts, 2-3, 4.38 ERA)

Athletics vs. Red Sox Odds

Game odds are via BetOnline. Odds from our other top reviewed and recommended online sportsbooks may also be featured in this article.

Moneyline

• Oakland A’s +128
• Boston Red Sox -152

Over/Under

• OVER 9.5 (+100)
• UNDER 9.5 (-122)

Run Line

• Oakland A’s +1.5 (-146)
• Boston Red Sox -1.5 (+122)

Is Oakland Done for at Fenway Without Plate Production?

Along with being the ninth and final game of a road trip that has seen them win only one of eight games against the Braves, Guardians, and Red Sox, this will wrap up the second series that the Athletics have played against the Red Sox in June.

So far, the results have not been good for Oakland. Boston has won all five games, outscoring the A’s 37-6 in the process. The Red Sox have won all five games by multiple runs, while the A’s have managed no more than two runs in any of the games.

It’s not likely to go any better in the finale either. In their 11-2 stretch, Boston has allowed two or fewer runs nine times, including each of their last three games. Ten times is the same number of times that the Red Sox had allowed two or fewer runs in their first 49 games.

But Blackburn should at least avoid putting the Athletics in an impossible position early, which is what their starting pitchers did in the first two games.

In Tuesday’s game, Jared Koenig gave up six runs, nine hits, and two walks in just four innings and left with the A’s in a 6-0 hole. Last night, James Kaprielian gave up six runs, seven hits, and six walks in 3.2 innings and left with the A’s in another 6-0 hole.

Season Splits for Paul Blackburn

• Home: 5 starts, 1-2, 4.39 ERA
• Road: 7 starts, 4-0, 0.91 ERA

Blackburn gave up four runs, seven hits, and two walks in just four innings in an 8-0 home loss to the Red Sox on June 4. In seven road starts, he has given up just four runs in 39.2 innings.

Hill’s splits are even more extreme than Blackburn’s. At home, he is 0-2 with an 8.04 ERA in four starts, while he is 2-1 with a 2.67 ERA in seven road starts. In 15.2 innings at Fenway, he has given up 20 hits and 14 runs (all earned), and he has given up 4+ runs in three of his home starts.

That should be a cause for a concern, but with how poor the A’s have been at the plate recently, if you were backing the Red Sox before checking out his splits, you likely still will despite those numbers.

Oakland Athletics vs. Boston Red Sox Prediction and Best Bets

A’s vs. Red Sox Prediction: Red Sox to win

A’s vs. Red Sox Best Bets: Red Sox -1.5 (+138 at BetUS) & OVER 9.5 (+100 at BetOnline)

Hill’s home splits are horrible, and Blackburn’s away splits are outstanding, but is that enough to make the A’s the pick here? No, not with how bad they have been lately. Matchups can certainly outweigh form in baseball, and Blackburn’s numbers on the road certainly make the A’s a potentially intriguing option.

Not intriguing enough to back, however. The Red Sox are swinging the bats well in this series, and even if Hill does decide to be generous against his former team (one of his many, many former teams), you have to like Boston’s chances to keep that going, even with Blackburn’s splits in mind.

Given how this series has gone and what Boston has done this season, there is far more value in backing Boston to cover the run line than backing either moneyline.

Of Boston’s 15 home wins this season, 14 have come by multiple runs, and of their 34 wins this season, 26 have come by multiple runs. When you can get the -1.5 at a number this good in this situation, it’s well worth the investment.

Double-digit combined runs have not been scored in any of Blackburn’s last seven starts, but with Boston’s bats coming through thus far in this series and Hill’s horrendous home splits factored in, look for there to be some Thursday afternoon fireworks at Fenway.