Betting Overview It is a stretch to call this series a World Series preview, but MLB betting fans in Pittsburgh are loving life lately as the Pirates are still a .500 team and still within striking distance of the NL Central pennant. Fans all over MLB keep checking the MLB baseball news just to make sure they are reading it right. The Pittsburgh Pirates are 37-37 and only three games out of first place. The fact that the Pirates are in fourth place and chasing division-favorites Cincinnati Reds and St. Louis Cardinals does not phase the Pirates. The Milwaukee Brewers are leading the NL Central pennant race, and if the Brewers can do it, then so can the Pirates. The Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees are, once again, engaged in mortal combat for the AL East pennant. Last year, the Red Sox could not keep up with the Tampa Bay Rays and Yankees as the Rays eventually won the pennant. This year, it is the Rays that cannot keep pace with the Yankees and Red Sox. The additions of Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford to the Red Sox batting order helped to bring the power back to the Boston line-up. The addition of better hitters has even brought David Ortiz back into the realm of being an elite hitter. The Red Sox panicked a bit at the beginning of the season when their much-hyped starting rotation could not deliver wins. But Boston’s rotation has come around, and the Pirates get a chance to see how good their hitting really is against the Boston starting rotation. Pittsburgh Pirates “Baby face” Jeff Karstens takes the mound for the Pirates in this game, and Karstens looks to give the Red Sox all they can handle. Karstens is 1-0 in his last four starts, but he has only given up two earned runs in that stretch. For the season, Karstens is 4-4 with a 2.54 ERA. Much of the blame for Karstens’ record can be laid on the Pirates bullpen and offense. In his last 10 games, Karstens has allowed more than two earned runs only one time. Karstens also does well against AL teams. In his last two starts against AL teams, Karstens has only allowed a total of two earned runs. Boston Red Sox The season-ending injury to pitcher Dice-K has opened a door that veteran knuckleballer Tim Wakefield has walked right through. Boston loves Wakefield because he has no problem pitching out of the bullpen or being a starter. He is effective in either situation. For the season, Wakefield is 4-2 with a 4.26 ERA. Many of the runs against Wakefield come late in the game as his knuckleball starts to lose its effectiveness. But against a Pittsburgh batting order that has had problems generating runs lately, Wakefield could prove to be very effective. The Bottom Line Tim Wakefield is not the kind of pitcher that gets into pitching duels, and Jeff Karstens is not the kind of pitcher that gives up a lot of runs. The bottom line in this game is offense. The team that can generate offense, will break through first. That team will be the Boston Red Sox. Pick: Boston Red Sox
