Contrasting styles will be on display in the first American League Division Series, which begins Wednesday evening.
The AL East champion Boston Red Sox, who had the best record in baseball, are a power and patient club that looks to wear down opposing pitchers. The Los Angeles Angels, the AL West champs, are almost like an NL club in how they use their speed.
For example, the Angels have gone from first-to-third on a single 122 times this season, the most in MLB. And their 139 steals is third in the AL, while their 65 sacrifice flies leads the league.
Boston, meanwhile, hit 43 more homers than the Angels this season with a slugging percentage about 100 points higher. And that was missing Manny Ramirez from the lineup for 24 baseball games due to a strained muscle in his side. Starting in Game 1, Ramirez and David Ortiz will bat third and fourth in the lineup for the first time since Aug. 28. Ortiz has been bothered by a sore right knee that probably will need offseason surgery.
"It seems like everybody's ready to go," Ortiz said. "We've been playing well and that's the shape you want to be in going into the MLB playoffs."
Angels manager Mike Scioscia, a former National League catcher, said he did not impose a personal offensive philosophy on his club. He tailors his attack to the players he has.
"We don't have as much power (as Boston)," Scioscia said. "We don't hit home runs at the frequency that a lot of clubs do. But one thing we do is run the bases extremely well. We're able to push the action offensively with a lot of situational hitting. That is the way these guys have to play, and they do a terrific job of it. It is the only way to play with this group of guys."Both teams' aces will start Game 1, with John Lackey for the Angels and Josh Beckett for the Red Sox; Boston is a -170 betting favorite for Game 1 at WagerWeb.com. Beckett went 20-7 with a 3.27 ERA this season, while Lackey was 19-9 with a 3.01 ERA for the Angels; interestingly, the two Cy Young award candidates have never faced each other.
Beckett is 1-0 with a 1.39 ERA in two starts against the Angels. The right-hander has held the Angels to three hits in 26 at-bats on two-strike counts, a .115 batting average.
"There's nothing like pitching in the playoffs and being a part of that, and contributing and trying to help a team win a world championship," Beckett said. "It's the ultimate goal."
Lackey hasn't had much luck against Boston: He is 1-6 with career with a 6.27 ERA, including 0-2 with an 8.38 ERA in two outings this year.
"John knows what you have to do to go out and win quote-unquote big games," Scioscia said.
The Angels are only 21-30 against the Red Sox since 2002, including 10-19 at Fenway Park.
A big key to this series could be the Angels' Garrett Anderson. Anderson drove in 65 runs in 68 games after the All-Star break, and he'll need to stay hot so Boston can't pitch around Vladimir Guerrero.
A need for a big series from Anderson is magnified by the fact that Guerrero sat out four of the final six regular-season games due to a sore triceps muscle (he may have to DH in this series), that Chone Figgins is dealing with an injured left wrist and enters the playoffs in a 0-for-22 slump, and that outfielder Gary Matthews Jr. won't play in this series due to an injury suffered in the final week. (Check out our MLB Injury Report)
However, some good news: L.A. does have the best home record in baseball at 54-27. So, if the Angels can steal one at Fenway...
Meanwhile, Boston will rely on Beckett, Game 2 starter Daisuke Matsuzaka and Game 3 starter Curt Schilling to pitch deep into games, as the Boston bullpen, outside of Jonathan Papelbon, has struggled of late. Matsuzaka is only 5-6 with a 5.19 ERA since the All-Star break, however, and Schilling, well, is old - thus the reason he was pushed back to Game 3.
Boston won't have starter Tim Wakefield for the ALDS, as he was shut down due to injury. He should return for the ALCS if Boston makes it.
These two teams played each other 10 times this season. The Red Sox won six, including five at Fenway Park.
The Red Sox are -175 at WagerWeb.com to win the series, and the guess here is Boston in four. With a banged-up club and no Matthews, that's too much for the Angels to overcome.
The 2007 MLB baseball betting season is almost gone! Start getting ready for the MLB World Series, get all your baseball news and stats at WagerWeb Online Sportsbook.
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