Betting odds: Boston Red Sox at Houston Astros
- Red Sox moneyline: -193
- Astros moneyline: +173
- Over/Under: 8 (-110/-110)
- First pitch: 8:09 p.m. ET
- Channel: TBS
>> All odds as of 2 p.m. ET. Download The Action Network App to get real-time MLB odds and track your bets
The Red Sox can clinch a spot in the World Series with a win over the Astros in Houston on Thursday night. Boston has taken both games at Minute Maid Park thus far and has scored 23 runs over the last three games.
Scoring eight runs will be pretty tough Thursday considering the Red Sox will be facing Justin Verlander.
The pitching edge is clearly with Houston in Game 5 as Alex Cora will send out David Price in the first elimination game of this series. The 33-year-old southpaw has struggled in the postseason so far but he was pretty solid over the regular season. In 176 innings, Price logged a 3.58 ERA and 3.95 xFIP while striking out 9.05 batters per 9 innings.
That being said, he's been a far cry from solid since the tournament started. I know you can't measure stuff like this, but some guys just get caught up in the moment and can't perform to the best of their abilities.
Cora going with Price after having him warm up Wednesday night shows me he's managing with house money a little bit and that's a dangerous game to play against the Astros.
It also doesn't help that Boston's closer, Craig Kimbrel, has struggled in the postseason and was just a few inches away from handing Houston a 3-1 series lead.
I believe that Verlander can stake the Astros to a lead and Houston's hitters can keep adding to it against Price and Boston's bullpen.
This one is pretty simple to me: don't go popping that champagne just yet.
The Bet: Astros -1.5 (+110)
