John Lackey and the Boston Red Sox can close out the 2013 World Series with a win at Fenway Park on Wednesday night, but they'll have to knock off Michael Wacha and the St. Louis Cardinals.
Wacha is a perfect 4-0 for St. Louis so far in the playoffs with a 1.00 ERA over 27 innings of work. The righthander beat Boston back in Game 2 of the series, holding them to two runs on three hits over six innings. Lackey lost Game 2, allowing three runs in 6 1-3 innings.
View St. Louis Cardinals vs Boston Red Sox Odds and Stats.
The Red Sox were listed as -9999 moneyline underdogs earlier in the day at Sportsbook, while oddsmakers set the Sportsbook total around 7 earlier at Sportsbook.
The MLB Power Rankings show a disparity between these teams, with the Red Sox rated this week at No. 4 and the Cardinals sitting at No. 2.
How They Match Up:
The game also pits Boston's No. 1-rated offense, averaging 5.19 runs per game, against a Cardinals defense that ranks No. 4 at 3.62 in runs allowed per game. The Red Sox have averaged 9.47 hits per game so far, more than Cardinals batters have averaged on the year (9.02 hits per game).
St. Louis brings the No. 4-rated defense to this matchup, facing the Red Sox's No. 11-ranked defense.
A few Cardinals at Red Sox trends to consider:
St. Louis is 15-7 SU in its last 22 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of St. Louis's last 6 games on the road
St. Louis is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games when playing Boston
The total has gone UNDER in 10 of St. Louis's last 14 games when playing Boston
Boston is 5-2 SU in its last 7 games
Boston is 6-2 SU in its last 8 games at home
Boston is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games when playing St. Louis
The total has gone UNDER in 10 of Boston's last 14 games when playing St. Louis
Next up:
St. Louis at Boston, Thursday, October 31st
