The Red Sox are a riot.
Entering this weekend’s series at San Francisco, they are 14-5 in July.
They lost a series at Oakland, but then swept the Braves at Fenway Park.
They have only three starting pitchers because four are hurt.
Yet the rag-tag Red Sox are keeping their heads above water.
Red Sox vs. Giants pick
(7:15 p.m. Eastern)
The bullpen has been the weak link, but Boston ranks among the top four teams in reliever ERA (2.91), expected FIP (3.73) and strikeout rate (27.1 percent) during July.
The Red Sox pulled struggling pitcher Nick Pivetta from the rotation, and he suddenly has turned into a dominant middle-relief guy (41 IP, 1.98 ERA, 0.80 WHIP, 12.7 K/9).
And the lineup is the reddest, hottest in the sport.
The Red Sox’s 130 wRC+ this month would be the fourth-best offensive month of any team this year. Triston Casas, Jarren Duran, Rafael Devers and Masataka Yoshida all boast an OPS above 1.000.
So, yeah, I’m betting the Red Sox every which way right now, including on the moneyline during their series at San Francisco.
Betting on Baseball?
Lefty James Paxton gets the start for Boston on Saturday, facing off against Giants righty Anthony DeSclafani.
Paxton carries an ERA and expected ERA in the low-3.00s, while DeSclafani boasts numbers around 5.00.
Meanwhile, the Giants have been the worst offense in baseball this month (73 wRC+, .628 OPS), and those numbers get worse against left-handed pitching (62 wRC+, .583 OPS).
The play: Red Sox moneyline