Red Hot Red Sox – Boston at Cleveland

BetOnline MLB betting odds:  Indians -120, Red Sox +100, Total 9

Left-hander Cliff Lee (1-3, 5.25 ERA), who won the 2008 Cy Young Award in the American League, will be the starter for Cleveland, while Boston counters with right-handed knuckleball artist Tim Wakefield (2-1, 2.46 ERA).

Here are some of the MLB Baseball betting trends as they relate to this matchup:

(Numbers may go back to last season)

* BOS has won its last ten games

* BOS has played nine of its last 12 games OVER the total

* BOS has lost five of its last seven road games

* CLEV has played its last five games UNDER the total

* CLEV has won 10 of its last 15 home games

* CLEV has played its last five home games UNDER the total

In the HEAD-TO-HEAD sports betting trends:

* BOS has won eight of the last nine meetings

* Four of the last five meetings have gone UNDER the total

* BOS has won 12 of the last 17 meetings as the road team

Cleveland has not been very productive on offense lately. The Indians have scored eleven runs in their last five games, which is obviously in stark contrast to the series they played against the Yankees, when they scored 22 runs in one game and 14 in one inning. This inconsistency has obviously been a big factor in their 7-12 record thus far.

Boston exploited a weak Yankee pitching staff over the weekend, scoring 25 runs in the three-game sweep, including six home runs on Saturday night. But there offensive explosion has not been confined to their encounters with the Bronx "Bombed." Indeed, the Red Sox have scored eight runs a game during the current ten-game winning streak, which has turned a sub-standard getaway from the gate into a position right in the thick of things in the American League East. Boston is now just one game behind Toronto, and is dead even in the loss column.

The Indians haven’t gotten off to nearly the kind of start they had hoped for. While the first four teams in the division are separated by just a game and a half, Cleveland brings up the rear, 3.5 games in back of Detroit.

Cliff Lee has not found the same form that brought him a 22-3 record and the Cy Young last season, although it should be noted that he has been impressive in his last two starts, going 14 innings against the Yankees and Royals while allowing only three earned runs. The Indians have lost three of the four games he’s started.

There is a huge edge in terms of bullpen performance, and it belongs to Boston, which has a 2.41 ERA from its relief pitchers, which is best in the majors. Cleveland’s 6.00 bullpen ERA is sixth from the bottom. Yes, the Red Sox are 2-4 on the road, but with them on such a roll, and hitting the ball the way they are, we think that Boston is a genuine underdog play at even money in the BetOnline Sportsbook. 

JAY’S PLAY:  BOSTON (Even) ***

(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)