MLB Betting Odds – Boston Faces Awesome Jimenez and Rockies as Underdogs Tonight

The Boston Red Sox face the awesome pitching sensation that is Ubaldo Jimenez and the Colorado Rockies tonight. Jimenez has been more spectacular than any pitcher in MLB by far in 2010. His record is a staggering 13 and 1. His ERA is an unbelievable 1.15. He has a WHIP of 1.00.

No wonder the Rockies are favorites in the MLB sportsbook to beat the BoSox tonight! Jimenez is unbeatable. He hasn’t yielded more than 3 runs in any game he’s started so far this season. His lone loss occurred on May 9th when the L.A. Dodgers beat him 2 to 0.

Jimenez didn’t receive run support that day. I’m not even sure if the loss can really be attributed to him.

Is there any possible way that the Boston Red Sox, with John Lackey on the mound, can beat the incredible Ubaldo Jimenez and the Colorado Rockies on Wednesday night?

Boston Red Sox vs. Colorado Rockies

• Where: Coors Field, Denver, CO
• When: June 23rd, 2010 at 8:40 pm EST
• TV: Boston – NESN
  Colorado – FSN
• Radio: Boston – WEEI 850, SBN 1150
  Colorado – KOA 850, KMXA 1090

MLB Betting Odds

Boston Red Sox
John Lackey – R +1 ½ -135 +155

Colorado Rockies
Ubaldo Jimenez – R -1 ½ +115 -175

The baseball betting trends should give both Rockies and Red Sox fans hope.

• The Boston Red Sox are 4 and 1 in John Lackey’s last 5 starts.
• The Boston Red Sox are 5 and 0 in John Lackey’s last 5 starts following a quality start in his last appearance.
• The Colorado Rockies are 22 and 5 in Ubaldo Jimenez’s last 27 starts as the favorite.
• The Colorado Rockies are 4 and 1 in Ubaldo Jimenez’s last 5 interleague game starts.

Lackey’s pitching stats just don’t compare to Jimenez’s, nobody’s in MLB does. Lackey is 8 and 3 on the season but his ERA is an ugly 4.53. His WHIP is an awful 1.58. Just looking at the stats, it appears difficult to make a case for the Red Sox to pull off the upset.

But there’s more to this story than just the pitcher stats. Jimenez’s overall stats look great, but eventually, somewhere during this season, he’s going to lose a game; he’s going to get roughed up. Tonight might be the night where that happens.

Ubaldo has given up 19 hits and 6 runs in his last 21 innings pitched. Those are still great stats, don’t get me wrong, but they’re a chink in an otherwise unbreakable armor.

Jimenez faces the #1 ranked offense in MLB tonight. The BoSox score, on average, 5.43 runs per game. They hit .277 as a team. They’ve hit 93 home runs as a team this season. They know how to get on base and they know how to score runs.

Lackey is going to have to pitch a great game, but he’s confident. Jimenez, like Roy Halladay and every other great pitcher this season, is going to stub his toe here and there. The question is…when?

I’ll be making a baseball bet that it happens tonight. I’m going with the Boston Red Sox to upset the Colorado Rockies.

MLB Sportsbook Pick: Boston Red Sox +155