Boston Red Sox vs. New York Mets: Picks, Predictions, Odds and Player Props

The regular season is coming to a close and with playoff baseball just a few weeks away, it’s an exciting time of year since plenty of teams are making one last postseason surge with every win even more crucial than the previous one.

Two teams still in the postseason hunt are the Boston Red Sox and New York Mets, who are in the midst of a three-game series in Queens, New York. The Mets won the series opener on Monday night behind an excellent outing from Luis Severino.

Tuesday's probable pitchers are Kutter Crawford for the Red Sox and David Peterson for the Mets. Let's get into expert picks and predictions for this Tuesday night showdown at Citi Field.

Boston Red Sox vs. New York Mets betting picks and predictions

New York Mets to win (-140)

The Red Sox have had one of the worst pitching staffs and most efficient offenses in baseball since the All-Star break.

However, the level of production from the Sox lineup was unsustainable in the long run. Scoring six or more runs in a game can only go on for so long before the offense begins to cool down, and that’s exactly what is happening right now.

Boston has scored one run or less in four of their last five games and the top half of the lineup appears to be in a collective slump.

A struggling lineup is even more of a concern since they are facing David Peterson on Tuesday night. The lefty joined the Mets rotation after spending April and May in Triple-A, and he’s been phenomenal as a back-end starter. He’s 8-1 with a 2.83 ERA coming into this start, but he’s been even better since the All-Star break.

Peterson owns a 4-1 record with a 2.59 ERA and has limited hitters to a .227 batting average in the second half of the season. In six starts in August, Peterson had a 1.86 ERA and limited hitters to a .216 batting average.

Peterson has been on a roll recently, but that’s not the only reason to take the Mets tonight. The Boston lineup has struggled against left-handed pitchers recently and it’s not difficult to see why. The Red Sox top hitters include Jarren Duran, Rafael Devers, Masataka Yoshida, Wilyer Abreu, and Triston Casas. See a theme? All of those players are left-handed hitters. The only everyday right-handed hitters that the Red Sox have are Connor Wong, Ceddanne Rafaela, and Tyler O’Neill.

Having a mostly left-handed hitting lineup against a lefty pitcher is not ideal - especially since Peterson has better splits against lefty hitters than righty hitters. There are very few reasons to expect a productive night at the plate for the Red Sox, so back the Mets to win at a reasonable price.

Under 8.0 total runs (-120)

This is my preferred angle in this game. Kutter Crawford against David Peterson might not seem like a pitcher’s duel, but it absolutely is.

As mentioned earlier, Peterson has had a fantastic season so far. He’s been even better in the second half of the season and has the extra advantage of starting on his home mound.

In his last two home outings, Peterson has allowed just two earned runs and nine hits to go along with 12 strikeouts in 13.1 innings.

If Peterson can get through six innings, which he’s done in five of his last six starts, he’ll put the Mets bullpen in a great position to close out the game. New York’s arm barn is very well rested since they’ve only had to use four different arms in their last two games. Several relievers are on multiple day rest as well.

On the Red Sox side, Crawford had a nightmare start to the second half of the season. The right-hander went into the break on a fantastic run, but all momentum was lost in the break.

He allowed 26 runs, 29 hits, and 13 home runs in his first five starts in the second half of the season. It was just about as bad as it could get, but fortunately for Crawford, he has started to improve.

In his last three starts, Crawford has allowed only 11 hits in 17 innings and has limited hitters to a .180 batting average with a .177 xBA. He allowed only one homer in those three outings which is a drastic improvement from a few weeks ago. Expect a low scoring affair that should end in New York’s favor.

Read more betting picks and predictions for the MLB on site.

Boston Red Sox vs. New York Mets odds

Boston Red Sox	+120 ML
New York Mets	-140 ML
Run Line	NY Mets -1.5
Total	O/U 8.0

Boston Red Sox vs. New York Mets player props

Player Home Run Odds

Tyler O’Neill (BOS Red Sox)	+425
Rafael Devers (BOS Red Sox)	+600
Jarren Duran (BOS Red Sox)	+900
Pete Alonso (NY Mets)	+375
Francisco Lindor (NY Mets)	+350
Mark Vientos (NY Mets)	+375

Read the latest MLB news on site.

This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.