The Boston Red Sox and Cincinnati Reds play the second game of their opening series following an off day Friday. In Thursday’s opener, the Sox won, 3-0, behind a lockdown effort from Garrett Crochet. Crochet tossed 6 scoreless innings, and then the bullpen did the rest. On Saturday, we get Sonny Gray (a former Red) and Brady Singer, a couple of veteran arms. I think this game is much closer to a toss-up, so I am happy to take good plus money on the Reds.
This Cincinnati lineup is young, but they are fun and talented. Rookie Sal Stewart collected 3 hits, Crochet or not, to lead the way on Thursday. He is hitting in between Elly De La Cruz and Eugenio Suarez. That middle of the lineup is going to do some serious damage this season, and I look for them to bounce back on Saturday. The Red Sox are a little top heavy for my liking, and if you can navigate the top half of the order, they are plenty vulnerable. I think Cincinnati has a great shot to even the series here.
Red Sox vs Reds Prediction: Reds ML (+123) available at the time of publishing. Playable to +110.