AL Championship Series Betting Preview - Red Sox vs. Astros

Boston Red Sox vs. Houston Astros
American League Championship Series starts in Houston on Friday, 10/15, at 8:07 p.m. ET
Best of 7 

Series Odds:
Boston +125
Houston -145

The American League West champion Astros have home-field advantage over the Red Sox, who advanced to the American League Championship Series after a 6-2 victory over the Yankees in the Wild Card game before eliminating the Rays in four games in one of the AL Divisional Series. The Astros beat the White Sox in four games in the other AL Divisional Series.

While Houston led the majors in batting average (.267) and runs scored (5.3 per game) during the regular season, Boston was one of five MLB teams to score an average of more than 5 runs per game in 2021. The Astros have enjoyed success against high-scoring teams in 2021, going 20-7 against American League squads that scored an average of at least 4.9 runs per game, outscoring their opponents over those 27 games by an average score of 5.8 to 3.0.

Only Toronto had a higher slugging percentage during the regular season than Boston (.449 slugging percentage) and Houston (.444). Red Sox Game 1 starting pitcher Chris Sale allowed five earned runs in one inning in his lone appearance in the AL Divisional Series. In games started by Sale in his career against an American League opponent with a slugging percentage of .440 or better, Sale’s team has gone 1-7 while being outscored by an average score of 5.8 to 2.9.