Phillies vs Red Sox MLB Pick: Boston Sends Veteran Giolito to the Hill (Mar 11)

• The Philadelphia Phillies (7-8) visit the Boston Red Sox (8-6) in a spring battle between two likely MLB playoff contenders
• Boston sends veteran Lucas Giolito to the hill as he continues his return from 2024 elbow surgery
• Philly starts young righty Mick Abel
• Both clubs have questions to answer as the regular season approaches

The Red Sox and Phillies, two teams with playoff hopes, meet in Ft. Myers. Boston will need a strong return from starter Lucas Giolito. The Phillies send their former first-round pick Mick Abel to the mound.

Both clubs have been up and down this spring. Boston has seen its playoff hopes rise with the Yankees’ catastrophic injuries. Philly is aging and did little to improve over the winter after losing in the NLDS last season.

Giolito Will Be Key to a Boston Resurgence

The Red Sox signed Giolito in the 2023-24 offseason and planned on him being a reliable arm in their rotation. But he suffered an elbow injury. Initially, it was feared he would need Tommy John surgery, but he had a brace procedure instead.

He had three straight seasons with a top-11 Cy Young Award finish when pitching for the White Sox. He bounced to three teams in 2023. This will be his first spring training appearance.

By now, it’s safe to say that Trayce Thompson will make the opening day roster. He now has 6 home runs in 26 plate appearances. Alex Bregman is hitting .450 with 2 homers. Trevor Story is hitting .458 with 2 homers.

On the negative side, Vaughn Grissom is hitting .227. Both Connor Wong and Tristan Casas are batting .091.

Philly Hopes Its Veteran Core Has Another Productive Year in Them

The Phillies made the playoffs for the third straight season in 2024. They lost to the Mets in the NLDS and did very little to improve over the winter apart from signing Max Kepler. He is not a big difference-maker. Recent reports suggested they were looking for an offensive upgrade by considering Pete Alonso with Bryce Harper moving back to the outfield, but that did not come to pass.

Their vets have been hitting well this spring. Kepler is at .316 with 2 homers. Harper is batting .381 in 21 at-bats but has yet to hit a home run. Nick Castellanos is scuffling at .143.

Youngster Mick Abel starts for Philly. He has not yet pitched this spring. The righty was the Phillies’ first-round draft choice in 2020. His minor league numbers show that he likely needs more seasoning. He has a 17-32 record and a 4.78 ERA as a pro. Still, he has surrendered 318 hits in 375 innings and struck out a whopping 445 batters.

Phillies vs Red Sox Pick: Boston’s Bats Are Too Much of the Young Philly Starter

With Boston hitting as well as it is and the inexperienced Abel starting, they should take the game over Philadelphia. It is unlikely that Giolito pitches more than 2 innings, so a solid game from Boston’s backup arms will be key.