Boston Red Sox vs. Kansas City Royals: Odds, Preview, & Prediction | Thursday, August 4th

Boston Red Sox vs. Kansas City Royals Preview: Expect Boston's bats to show up big time tonight

Tonight, the Boston Red Sox will make the trip to begin their 4-game series against the Kansas City Royals. Boston has won 3 out of their last 5 games and have relied heavily on their pitching to help them win the series against the Houston Astros. However, tonight they may be asking a lot out of their offense. If you want betting action on this game, you've come to the right place.

Below, you will find a brief preview of each team followed by a prediction for the game.

Boston Red Sox Preview:

"Joining some elite company."- @RedSox

The Boston Red Sox have been the victims of a very poor pitching staff. Luckily, their offense has been extremely good. The Boston Red Sox offense ranks 6th in the MLB in team batting average, and has seen an uptick in production against left-handed pitching. They will face a lefty tonight in Kansas City, which should work to their advantage. They are led by Rafael Devers and J.D. Martinez, who will look to do damage tonight.

The Red Sox also rank in the top 10 in the MLB in runs per game, and score more runs on the road than at home. These are great indicators that the offense is capable of getting the job done against this scrappy Royals club. The key to victory for the Red Sox is to provide run support for the pitcher, Nick Pivetta. Pivetta has been solid this season, but every pitcher needs run support.

Kansas City Royals Preview:

"Here's how we will take the field behind Kris Bubic to open our homestand and four-game set vs. the Red Sox."- @Royals

Although the Royals have been a profoundly scrappy team, they still rank towards the bottom of the MLB in many important statistics. Most importantly, their pitching staff ranks 24th in the MLB in Team ERA, and their bullpen sits 26th in the league in the same category. Statistics indicate that this is a terrible matchup for the Royals.

The Royals will send Kris Bubic to the mound for this contest, and he has been inconsistent this season. In his last 6 starts, Bubic has given up at least 3 earned runs in 4 of those. The key to victory for Kansas City is to get a quality start out of Bubic and manufacture timely runs on offense.

Pick/Prediction: Boston Red Sox Team Total over 4.5 (-120)

The Red Sox have crushed lefites this season and have a few new players after the trade deadline. Tommy Pham and Eric Hosmer anticipate to have their presence felt right away. Look for the Red Sox offense to bring their A-game to the park tonight and score 5+ runs. Let's go Sox!