The Boston Red Sox return home to take on the Los Angeles Dodgers for the first time since 2019. The Red Sox are coming off a four-game series split against the Houston Astros; the Red Sox outscored Houston 31-22, with most of those runs coming in the final game as the Red Sox won that game 17-1. The Dodgers are coming in off a series against the Cleveland Guardians, in which they won two of three and outscored the Guardians 18-12. The last time these two teams played was back in 2019; the Dodgers took two out of three from the Red Sox, and the Red Sox were outscored 19-14.
Boston Red Sox (66-59) vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (76-47)
Game 1:
Date: Friday, August 25
Time: 7:10 PM EST
Broadcast: AppleTv+
Game 2:
Date: Saturday, August 26
Time: 4:10 PM EST
Broadcast: NESN
Game 3:
Date: Sunday, August 27
Time: 1:35 PM EST
Broadcast: NESN
Probable Pitching Matchups
Game 1: Kutter Crawford (6-6, 3.66 ERA) vs. Lance Lynn (9-9, 5.60 ERA)
Crawford will get the series started for the Red Sox, making his 25th appearance and 17th start of the season. He posts a 4.25 FIP, a 1.09 WHIP, a 2.3 BB/9, and an 8.8 K/9. His last start came against the Yankees, and he pitched well, going six innings, giving up one run on one hit; he walked two and struck out five. Crawford has never faced the Dodgers in his career. Crawford will face Lance Lynn for the Dodgers, who is making his fifth start since the Dodgers acquired him from the Chicago White Sox. This season, between the two teams, he posts a 4.99 FIP, a 1.36 WHIP, a 3.1 BB/9, and a 10.5 K/9. With the Dodgers, he posts a 3-0 record with a 1.44 ERA, a 3.95 FIP, a 0.88 WHIP, a 1.8 BB/9, and a 9.0 K/9. In his career against the Red Sox, Lynn has made nine starts, going 2-1 with a 2.36 ERA, a 1.07 WHIP, and an 8.0 K/9; he faced the Red Sox earlier this year when he was with the White Sox, going 5.2 innings giving up three runs on six hits; he walked one and struck out seven but didn’t factor into the decision.
Game 2: James Paxton (7-4, 3.79 ERA) vs. Julio Urias (11-6, 4.15 ERA)
Paxton will get the finale, making his 18th start of the season. He is looking to rebound from a rough outing last time when he gave up seven runs, six earned, on nine hits against the Astros; he walked three and struck out four. Paxton posts a 4.21 FIP, a 1.21 WHIP, a 2.6 BB/9, and a 9.7 K/9. In his career against the Dodgers, Paxton has made two starts, going 1-0 with a 4.85 ERA, a 0.81 WHIP, and an 11.8 K/9. Paxton will face Julio Urias for the Dodgers. Urias is making his 20th start of the season; he posts a 4.28 FIP, a 1.09 WHIP, a 1.8 BB/9, and an 8.8 K/9. In his career against the Red Sox, he has made four appearances all in relief, posting a 1.80 ERA, a 0.40 WHIP, and a 7.2 K/9 in five innings of work.
Game 3: Tanner Houck (3-7, 5.08 ERA) vs. TBD
Houck will get the ball in the finale, making his 15th start of the season and second since returning from the injured list. In his first outing back since June 16, he faced the Astros going five innings, giving up three runs on four hits; he walked three and struck out two. This season, he posts a 4.39 FIP, a 1.26 WHIP, a 3.2 BB/9, and an 8.2 K/9. Houck has never faced the Dodgers in his career. The Dodgers have not announced a starter against the Red Sox for the finale.
Red Sox vs. Dodgers Batting Leaders
Series Prediction:
This will not be an easy series for the Red Sox as the Dodgers are one of the best teams in the National League. The pitching may favor the Red Sox; I will go with two out of three for the Red Sox with the loss coming in the Paxton start, as he hasn’t looked great as of late. That final game may also be challenging, depending on who the Dodgers decide to pitch.
