<p>
After taking a series loss in Seattle to open their season, the defending World Series champion Red Sox hope for better when they begin a four-game series with the A's in Oakland Monday night (10:05 pm ET, NESN, NBCS California). Which way are we going with our <a href="https://www.sportsbettingstats.com/mlb/free-mlb-picks&quot; title="Expert Baseball Picks">free MLB picks</a> here?
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<h2>
The Line<br />
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<p>
Monday's MLB betting odds opened Boston and David Price at around -130 over Oakland and Aaron Brooks, with an over/under of 8.5. Both those figures were holding steady in early betting action.
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<p>
The Red Sox could also be found getting around +120 giving the run and a half on the MLB run line.
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<h2>
Sox-A's Betting Preview<br />
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<p>
Boston just opened its season by losing three of four games to the Mariners in Seattle over the weekend, including a 10-8 decision Sunday. The Sox took an early 3-0 lead Sunday, but starting pitcher Rick Porcello couldn't get out of the third inning when the Mariners put up a touchdown.
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<p>
Boston lost as a -135 favorite Sunday, to go along with a -205 loss Thursday and a -160 loss Saturday. So the Sox are down $400 (based on those standard $100 bets) already this season.
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<p>
Oakland, meanwhile, just took three of four games from the Angels over the weekend, including a 2-1 decision Sunday. The A's got a quality start from Frankie Montas Sunday and three hitless innings from the bullpen for the win as -125 favorites.
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<p>
Oakland only scored 12 runs in the series against the Angeles but only allowed nine runs.
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<p>
The A's took the season series from Boston last year four games to two.
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<h2>
Monday's Pitching Match-Up<br />
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<p>
Brooks will be making his first ML start since 2015 when he went 3-4/6.71 over nine starts for the A's. He then spent the next two summer toiling at Triple-A level, where he went 9-11 with an ERA near seven. He then did a decent stint at AAA Colorado Springs last year, going 9-4/3.35, before throwing 2 2/3 innings of relief for the A's last September.
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<p>
Brooks earned a shot with the Big Club by posting a 4.40 ERA over 14 1/3 innings at Spring Training.
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<p>
This will be Brooks' first appearance against Boston since early 2015 when he was with Kansas City, and that's already a long time ago.
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<p>
Lefty Price (16-7, 3.58 last year), by our strict standards, finished 15/30 on quality starts last season. The Red Sox went 22-8 with Price, with the unders going 15-13.
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<p>
In his only start, last year against Oakland Price allowed four runs and nine hits through 7 2/3 innings of a 4-1 Boston loss in April.
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<p></aside></p>
<h2>
Monday's Batting Splits<br />
</h2>
<p>
Boston hit .275/.344/.473 against right-handed pitching last season. The Sox also scored 24 runs in their four-game series against Seattle over the weekend.
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<p>
Oakland hit .245/.322/.423 against left-handed pitching last season. But as mentioned above the A's only scored 12 runs in their series against the Angels over the weekend.
</p>
<h2>
The Bullpens<br />
</h2>
<p>
The Boston bullpen owns a 2.50 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP so far this young season.
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<p>
The Oakland bullpen owns a 4.68 ERA and a 1.32 WHIP this season.
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<h2>
Totals Report<br />
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<ul>
<li>
The overs are 4-0 in Red Sox games this season.
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<li>
The unders are 1-5 in A's games this season.
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<li>
The totals split 3-3 in Sox-A's games last season.
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<li>
The unders finished 43-35-3 in games played at the Oakland Coliseum last season, which averaged 8.4 runs per.
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</ul>
<p><section></p>
<ul>
<li>
<span style="font-size:16px;"><b><span style="color:#008000;">Get more details:</span></b> <a class="advblue" href="https://www.sportsbettingstats.com/mlb/matchup/1073563">Boston Red Sox at Oakland A's Match-up Stats</a> </span>
</li>
</ul>
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