Ride the Red Sox While They're Rolling

The Red Sox are the hottest team in baseball right now, and I'm not looking to get cute with this one.

Boston draws left-hander Gage Jump, who has allowed six runs in two of his last four starts. Jump has a bright future, but right now he's struggling, and that's a bad combination when you're about to face a dynamic Red Sox lineup that is seeing the ball extremely well.

Another concern is Jump's inability to consistently work deep into games. That puts even more pressure on a bullpen that hasn't exactly inspired confidence. If Jump exits early, Boston could get a look at the middle relief innings, and that's where this matchup could really start to tilt toward the Sox.

On the other side, Jake Bennett has been about as steady as they come. He owns an ERA under 3.00 and hasn't allowed more than three runs in a game over his last nine starts. That's exactly the type of consistency I want when I'm laying money on a team that is already swinging a hot bat.

And speaking of hot bats, Boston just scored 13 runs last night.

When a team is this locked in at the plate, I'm not interested in trying to convince myself that it's suddenly going to cool off because the calendar says it should. Jump has the talent, but talent and current form aren't always the same thing.

This is a spot where I'm trusting what I've been seeing.

The play: Red Sox.

Boston is hitting, Bennett is pitching well, and Jump's recent struggles combined with his short outings could put a vulnerable bullpen into the crosshairs.

I'll take the hot Red Sox and ride the streak.

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