Boston Red Sox vs Atlanta Braves Prediction & Betting Tips - MLB Spring Training

Prediction published on 06/03/2024, 18:30  by Matthew Newman | Modified on 06/03/2024 at 21:06 in Baseball Predictions

The 8-5 Boston Red Sox will take on the 6-5 Atlanta Braves in spring training on Thursday. The Sox will be looking forward to this season, looking to atone for finishing bottom of the American League East in 2023. They are showing some promise for the season ahead, especially in the running game in the early stages. Justin Hagenman is yet to appear in a regular season game for either the Los Angeles Dodgers who drafted him or the Red Sox but he is making a strong case to be a part of the bullpen this year. He has appeared in four games, working 4.1 innings and struck out seven, without giving up an earned run. Rafael Devers leads the team in hits and home runs and that should be the case in the regular season as well.

During the regular season in both 2022 and 2023, the Braves looked like the team with the biggest upside but on both occasions, they fell early in the postseason. They will be hoping to avoid that again this year but are only just over .500 so far in spring training. They picked up their sixth win on Tuesday with a 3-0 shutout of the Detroit Tigers but their star players are struggling. Matt Olson led the league in home runs last year but he is hitting just .154 in spring training, Ronald Acuna is hitting .143 and Ozzie Albies just .071. The team will be happy that they are not struggling at the same time in the regular season and things can only go one way from here.