Houston Astros at Boston Red Sox:
The Houston Astros and Boston Red Sox are in the thick of the American League Playoff race, and on Sunday, both look to wrap up this series in Boston on a high note.
Hunter Brown starts for the Astros. Brown has a 3.96 ERA this season, but that does not represent how he has pitched recently. He enters, allowing three runs or fewer in 12 of his past 14 starts. In his past 11 starts, he owns a 2.13 ERA with 0.5 home runs and 2.2 walks per nine innings, going an average of just over six innings per start.
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Brown is backed up by a bullpen that has a 3.21 ERA since May 1, which ranks fourth in the league, while the Red Sox’s 4.47 ERA in this span is 23rd in the league.
Boston will call upon James Paxton to start on Sunday. Paxton has a 4.42 ERA with 6.6 strikeouts to 4.5 walks per nine innings but appears to be rounding into form.
Paxton has allowed three earned runs or fewer in seven of his past nine starts, and in his nine starts at Fenway Park since the 2023 season began, he has a 4.02 ERA with 10.3 strikeouts to 2.5 walks per nine innings.
Boston entered Saturday leading the league in runs scored since the All-Star Break and fourth overall this season in runs scored, but have done much of their damage on the road with nearly 5.3 runs per game on the road and less than 4.7 runs per game at home.
Houston also sees their run production slip in this split, averaging 4.8 runs per game at home compared to 4.4 runs per game on the road. With the way Hunter Brown has pitched this summer, the series will conclude with a Sunday pitchers duel.
MLB Pick: Astros vs. Red Sox Under 10.5 Runs
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