Red Sox-Angels Preview

The Boston Red Sox and the Los Angeles Angels will both be gunning for a victory on Wednesday when they meet at Angel Stadium in Game 1 of their ALDS. The Red Sox will pin their hopes on the pitching of lefthander Jon Lester in this game. Lester has a 16-6 record and a 3.21 ERA this season. Lester's opponent in this one will be John Lackey. The Angels ace righthander has a 3.75 ERA to go along with a 12-5 record this season. Oddsmakers currently have the Angels listed as 132-moneyline favorites versus the Red Sox, while the game's total is sitting at 8½. The Red Sox finished off the regular season with a 4-3 win over the Yankees in Game 2 of a doubleheader on Sunday. Boston was a -120 favorite in the game and the seven runs scored fell UNDER the posted over/under total (10.5). Jonathan Van Every singled in the winning run in the tenth inning for Boston, while Sean Casey drove in a pair of runs in the win. Joe Saunders pitched six shutout innings Sunday to lead the Angels past Texas 7-0 in Los Angeles' regular season finale. The Angels were a -130 favorite and the seven runs scored fell UNDER the posted over/under total (9). Mike Napoli was 3-3 with a home run and four RBI for the Angels, while Gary Matthew Jr. was 3-4 with three runs scored. Team records: Boston: 95-67 SU Los Angeles: 100-62 SU Boston most recently: When playing on Wednesday are 6-4 Before playing LA Angels are 5-5 After playing NY Yankees are 5-5 After a win are 4-6 Los Angeles most recently: When playing on Wednesday are 7-3 Before playing Boston are 6-4 After playing Texas are 7-3 After a win are 7-3 A few trends to consider: The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Boston's last 5 games The total has gone UNDER in 9 of Boston's last 13 games when playing on the road against LA Angels Boston is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games The total has gone OVER in 4 of Boston's last 6 games when playing on the road against LA Angels LA Angels are 5-0 SU in their last 5 games when playing Boston The total has gone OVER in 5 of LA Angels's last 6 games LA Angels are 6-2 SU in their last 8 games at home LA Angels are 8-3 SU in their last 11 games Next up: LA Angels home to Boston, Friday, October 3