The Oakland A’s and the Boston Red Sox cross paths again, as they start a three-game series at Fenway Park this Tuesday night. Check out our preview below of this A’s vs. Red Sox 2022 MLB season showdown.
This season is turning out to be another letdown one for the Athletics, who are way under .500. They have won just once over their last 12 games and they are coming off a 6-3 loss to the Cleveland Guardians last Saturday. That was actually the second leg of a double-header, with the A’s winning the first one, 10-5. Jared Koenig will be making the second start of his career tonight. In his major league debut, Koenig pitched for 4.0 innings and gave up 4 earned runs with 2 walks and 3 strikeouts in a 13-2 loss to the Atlanta Braves last June 8. Oakland will have to front Koenig with much better run support this time around, so the likes of Seth Brown, Sean Murphy, and Ramon Laureano will have to come alive. Brown is hitting .286 in the last seven days, while Murphy and Laureano are both batting .250 in that same span. Christian Bethancourt, meanwhile, went 9/17 with 3 homers in the Guardians series.
The Red Sox have won two of three games in their last series against the Seattle Mariners on the road. They are now 9-2 in their last 11 games, including their 2-0 win to close out the Mariners series last Sunday. Nick Pivetta will get the start this Tuesday night, his third of the month. In his last start, he went 5.0 innings long and allowed 4 earned runs on 6 hits in a 5-2 loss to the Los Angeles Angels on the road. He did strike out 11 Angels hitters, though, before he exited the game. Pivetta has been striking people out at a solid clip this season, fanning 9.32 batters per 9 innings. He’s also been good at neutralizing power hitters, as he is carrying an 8.9 HR/FB ratio. Pivetta pitched 7 scoreless innings in an 8-0 win over the A’s on June 4 in Oakland.
The Red Sox are 5-0 in their last 5 games as a favorite.
