Monday night baseball and we will see the Boston Red Sox travel to Texas to take on the Texas Rangers in game 1 of their 3 game series. The game is scheduled for an 8:05 (ET) pm start time and it will be televised live on ESPN. Currently the odds have Texas favored at -136, while Boston is dogs of -128. The total for the game sits at 10.5 runs.
Free Analysis: Boston (48-48) arrives in Texas after being swept in three games at home to Toronto, and then travels to New York for a weekend showdown with the AL East-leading Yankees. With Sunday's 15-7 loss, the Red Sox fell behind the Blue Jays into last place in the division, 9 1/2 games back of New York. They're also 3 1/2 out of the league's second wild card and are in danger of dropping below .500 for the first time since June 16, when they were 32-33. After surrendering 28 runs against Toronto, Boston hopes to get better pitching Monday from Felix Doubront (10-4, 4.24 ERA). Doubront has been Boston’s most consistent pitcher and picked up his team-leading 10th win last time out, when he held the Chicago White Sox to one run and four hits in six innings. The 24-year-old left-hander has benefited from plenty of offensive support and has only completed seven innings once in 16 starts. Doubront has made four appearances - one start - against the Rangers in his career, getting pounded for nine runs (seven earned) and 11 hits in 6 1/3 total innings. "Whatever happens, I want to keep fighting to get more wins," said Doubront, who has been at his best on the road, going 3-1 with a 2.45 ERA in his last five outings away from Fenway Park. Boston's Adrian Gonzalez has fared well in the series, especially at Rangers Ballpark, where he hit .464 with five homers and 11 RBIs in seven games last season. He hit a three-run homer Sunday, and is batting .438 with three home runs and 13 RBIs in eight games since the break. The Red Sox lead the majors with 479 runs, and they could be poised for a big day Monday with Scott Feldman (3-6, 5.89) slated to take the ball for the injured Roy Oswalt (back). Feldman, who threw two scoreless innings of relief in his most recent appearance July 8, hasn't started since yielding four runs and six hits in a 5-4, 10-inning loss to the White Sox on July 4. The right-hander was 2-5 with a 7.34 ERA in his final eight starts before being sent to the bullpen and he was hit very hard in his only start vs the Sox this year, allowing 12 runs (6 Earned) on 10 hits in just 2.2 innings of work. Felix Doubront will be facing a Texas offense that is third in the majors with 473 runs, but hasn't been particularly intimidating lately, averaging 3.1 runs while going 6-9 this month. Josh Hamilton is in the middle of this July slump, batting .164 with three homers and five RBIs. He was 6 for 9 with six RBIs in helping the Rangers sweep a two-game series at Fenway in April, however, and is batting .381 with 23 RBIs in 22 games against the Red Sox since 2010. The Red Sox have gone 4-11 at Texas over the last three seasons.
Free Pick: I don't play a lot of dogs, but I like the spot the Sox are in for this one, so I will go with them here. The Sox have missed David Ortiz' bat of late, but that may even out in this series, considering the slump that Hamilton is in of late. Hamilton has some good numbers in this series, batting .381 with 23 RBI's since 2010 vs the Sox, but he is really pressing right now and may not break out vs a hot pitcher in Felix Doubront. Felix has a 2.70 ERA in the month of July and has been solid on the road this year with a 5-1 mark and a 3.09 ERA. Felix is one of the best in league at getting run support (6.83 rpg) and the Sox are 7-1 in his road starts and have given him 6.3 rpg away from home. Boston should break out of their funk some here as they will be facing Scott Feldman, who was 2-5 with a 7.34 ERA in his 8 starts before getting sent to the pen. He also allowed 2 runs (6 Earned) on 10 hits in just 2.2 innings of work in his lone start vs Boston this year. The Sox need this one bad, they have the pitching advantage, Texas is off a tough emotion series vs the Angels and they are home off a long road trip. Add it all up and you get a solid play on the dog in this one.
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Betting Strategies: Handicapping Theories
Host Marco D'Angelo and Pregame Pro Dave Essler discuss there handicapping theories and what they look at when they are handicapping games.