Updated August 2, 2026
The Boston Red Sox roll into Dodger Stadium on a four-game win streak and having already taken the first two games of this weekend series, putting a proud Los Angeles club on upset alert as the home team tries to avoid a series sweep on Sunday Night Baseball. Jake Bennett takes the mound for Boston carrying a sparkling 2.74 ERA, while a Dodgers rotation already missing Tyler Glasnow, Blake Snell and several bullpen arms turns to Emmet Sheehan, who has struggled to a 4.95 ERA this year. With the Red Sox 34-22 on the road and riding a hot streak at the plate, this matchup between postseason contenders should be an interesting one in LA.
Boston's pitching edge is the deciding factor here. Bennett has posted a 0.97 WHIP with 46 strikeouts across his starts this year and has been one of the more reliable arms in the AL East, while Sheehan's 1.25 WHIP and inflated ERA make him a soft landing spot for a Red Sox lineup that has scored seven more runs than it has allowed over its last 10 games. Willson Contreras has been the catalyst for that stretch with 23 home runs and 43 extra-base hits on the year, and Ceddanne Rafaela has been red hot, going 14 for 43 with five home runs and 13 RBI over his last 10 games.
Los Angeles still has more thump in the middle of its order with Freddie Freeman hitting .310 with 15 home runs and 54 RBI, and the Dodgers are a strong 30-8 this season when they avoid giving up a home run. But a rotation stretched thin by injury (with Tarik Skubal not yet arrived after last night's trade) and a Boston club that has already beaten them twice this weekend push our projection toward the road underdog. Expect a competitive, back-and-forth night that lands near the total, with Boston's bullpen closing it out late.
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Combined odds for this parlay: +900
Contreras has been one of the most productive hitters in baseball of late with 23 home runs and 18 doubles on the season, and he should see plenty of pitches to drive against a Dodgers staff working without several of its top arms. Bennett, meanwhile, has racked up 46 strikeouts already this year and could cause problems for a Dodgers lineup that has struggled to produce at the same level of the Sox this weekend.
Category | Boston Red Sox | Los Angeles Dodgers |
|---|---|---|
Batting Average | .245 | .262 |
OPS | .710 | .773 |
wOBA | .313 | .337 |
wRC+ | 95 | 113 |
Team ERA | 3.54 | 3.61 |
xFIP | 3.82 | 3.86 |
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