Red Sox-Phillies prediction: Picks, odds on Sunday, May 7

The Boston Red Sox (21-14) look for a sweep of the Philadelphia Phillies (15-19) as the two teams wrap up a three-game series on Sunday, May 7. First pitch from Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is set for 1:35 p.m. ET. Tanner Houck (3-1, 5.34 ERA) gets the starting nod for Boston, while Philly counters with Taijuan Walker (2-2, 6.91 ERA).

The Phillies are the -125 moneyline favorites at DraftKings Sportsbook. Despite being on an eight-game win streak, the Red Sox are the +105 underdogs, and the run total is sitting at 9.5. Boston will be off on Monday before a brief two-game road trip against the Atlanta Braves starting Tuesday. Philadelphia also gets an off day Monday before hosting the Toronto Blue Jays for two games beginning Tuesday.

Red Sox

Out: SS Yu Chang (wrist), SP Garrett Whitlock (elbow)

Phillies

Out: CF Cristian Pache (knee), SP Ranger Suarez (forearm), RP Andrew Bellatti (triceps)

Tanner Houck vs. Taijuan Walker

Houck will be starting his seventh game of the season. Despite allowing at least two earned runs every outing, he has been heavily supported by Boston's surprisingly strong lineup. Houck most recently pitched six innings and allowed six earned runs on six hits but didn't end up factoring into the decision as Boston came away with the 7-6 win in the game.

Walker will also be making his seventh appearance of the season. He has shown flashes of what he can bring to a pitching matchup but has lacked consistency. Walkers is coming off his worst outing of the year so far, pitching only 3.1 innings against the Los Angeles Dodgers as he allowed eight earned runs on eight hits.

This is a high total, but with the way these starting pitchers have thrown the ball recently, I still like the over. So far in this series, we have seen run totals of eight and 11, respectively. On their win streak, the Red Sox haven't scored fewer than five runs in a game.

Pick: Over 9.5

At some point, Boston is going to lose, as it is highly improbable they will win out the rest of the regular season. That being said, Philly finds itself on a six-game losing streak. It is hard to bet against the Sox right now because even with poor pitching performances, they are just tearing the cover off the ball and scoring runs at will.

Pick: Red Sox

  
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