Arizona Diamondbacks vs Boston Red Sox Prediction, Preview and Odds - 08/18/2026

Game Time: 7:10 pm ET, Tuesday, August 18, 2026

Venue:  Fenway Park, Boston, MA 

Where to Watch:  MLB TV

DraftKings:  Moneyline odds:  Diamondbacks +141, Red Sox -171; Over/Under:  8.5 runs

Bet365:  Moneyline odds:  Diamondbacks +140, Red Sox -170; Over/Under:  8.5 runs

BetMGM:  Moneyline odds:  Diamondbacks +140, Red Sox -170; Over/Under:  8.5 runs

Arizona Diamondbacks:  66-59 (3rd place, NL West)

Boston Red Sox:  66-58 (3rd place, AL East)

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Arizona Diamondbacks:  5-5 last 10

Boston Red Sox:  3-7 last 10

The Diamondbacks are entering this series off a loss and won their 3-game series against the Atlanta Braves 2-1 in their last series. They enter this game with a 66-59 record overall and have a road record of 30-32. This is the 2nd game of a 3-game series with the Red Sox on Tuesday with the series opener still to be played on Monday. Their offense ranks 18th in the MLB with a .715 OPS. Rookie pitcher Mitch Bratt is their starting pitcher on Monday while Merrill Kelly is making his start in this game on Tuesday. He is 8-10 with a 5.11 ERA this season. His team lost 3 of their last 4 games this season with him making an appearance. In his last MLB regular season appearance, he allowed 6 ER, 2 HR, and 3 BB with 2 SO on 6 hits through 5 IP against the Colorado Rockies.

The Red Sox are entering this series off a loss and lost their 3-game series against the Pittsburgh Pirates 2-1 in their last series. They enter this game with a 66-58 record overall and have a home record of 29-31. This is the 2nd game of a 3-game series with the Diamondbacks on Tuesday with the 1st game of this series still to be played on Monday. Their offense ranks 14th in the MLB with a .720 OPS. Rookie pitcher Alec Gamboa is their starting pitcher on Monday while Ranger Suarez is making his start in this game on Tuesday. He is 4-3 with a 3.25 ERA this season. His team won 5 of their last 6 games this season with him making an appearance. In his last MLB regular season start, he allowed 1 earned run, 0 homers, and 1 walk with 2 strikeouts on 6 hits through 5 innings pitched against the Toronto Blue Jays.

The current betting odds have the Red Sox listed as a favorite in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. The Red Sox have looked good in their games this season with their 66-58 record overall which has them right in the middle of the AL East. They haven't looked great in their own ballpark though with their 29-31 home record this season. Meanwhile, the Diamondbacks have looked good in their games this season with their 66-59 record overall which has them right in the middle of the NL West. They haven't been a great road team though with their 30-32 road record this year. The Diamondbacks just won their last series against the Braves, but they are only 5-5 in their last 10 games and have been really up and down lately. The Red Sox are 3-7 in their last 10 games and haven't looked that great themselves after going on a really hot streak, but they will be looking to bounce back after a bad week and they do have the better pitching matchup here. The Red Sox are going with Suarez in this one and he has looked good this season. He is 4-3 with a 3.25 ERA and he hasn't been giving up many runs lately. He is coming off another great start giving up 1 earned run which has been a common theme for him and the team has been having a ton of success with him lately, winning 5 of their last 6 games with him starting. The Diamondbacks are going with Kelly in this one and he hasn't looked good this season. He is 8-10 with a 5.11 ERA and he has been giving up a ton of runs all year. He is coming off another bad start giving up 6 earned runs which has been a common theme for him and his team has lost 3 of their last 4 games with him starting too. The Red Sox can take advantage of this pitching matchup to get themselves back on track at home. The best way to place a bet here is on the Red Sox to win this game. 

Diamondbacks Red Sox Prediction:  Our MLB Pick for Tuesday, August 18, 2026 (7:10 pm ET start time) is Red Sox 8 Diamondbacks 3.

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Arizona Diamondbacks: 234-215 (+8.9 units) on the moneyline in all games. 111-112 (+13.9 units) on the moneyline in road games. 96-109 (+16.3 units) on the moneyline as an underdog of +100 or higher. 9-3 UNDER vs. an AL starting pitcher whose WHIP is 1.300 or better.

Boston Red Sox: 17-22 (-7.5 units) on the moneyline against NL West opponents. 114-107 (-22.9 units) on the moneyline in home games. 142-114 (-16.1 units) on the moneyline as a favorite of -110 or higher. 8-4 UNDER vs. an NL team with a slugging percentage .400 or worse on the season.

Arizona Diamondbacks:  N. Arenado (3B) Day To Day - Neck. R. Thompson (RP) Fifteen Day IL - Back. D. Jameson (RP) Fifteen Day IL - Hip. Z. Gallen (SP) Sixty Day IL - Elbow. L. Gurriel Jr. (LF) Ten Day IL - Adductor. T. Troy (LF) Ten Day IL - Shoulder. J. Lawlar (LF) Ten Day IL - Hamstring. R. Nelson (SP) Sixty Day IL - Elbow. C. Mena (SP) Sixty Day IL - Shoulder. B. Walston (SP) Sixty Day IL - Elbow. C. Burnes (SP) Sixty Day IL - Elbow. A. Puk (RP) Sixty Day IL - Elbow. J. Martinez (RP) Sixty Day IL - Elbow. A. Saalfrank (RP) Sixty Day IL - Shoulder.

Boston Red Sox:  J. Slaten (RP) Fifteen Day IL - Elbow. M. Yoshida (DH) Ten Day IL - Hamstring. G. Whitlock (RP) Fifteen Day IL - Elbow. I. Kiner-Falefa (2B) Sixty Day IL - Forearm. C. Mead (3B) Ten Day IL - Hand. Z. Kelly (RP) Sixty Day IL - Elbow. R. Anthony (LF) Sixty Day IL - Wrist. G. Crochet (SP) Sixty Day IL - Shoulder. T. Story (SS) Sixty Day IL - Abdomen. K. Crawford (SP) Sixty Day IL - Wrist. T. Casas (1B) Sixty Day IL - Knee. J. Oviedo (SP) Sixty Day IL - Elbow. T. Houck (SP) Sixty Day IL - Elbow.

“It’s been something that’s been bothering him for a couple of days since the Padres series [Aug. 3-6]. He’s been trying to gut it out, and he moved to his left and it just got to be a little bit too much for him.” - Torey Lovullo on Ketel Marte after his team’s loss against the Braves in their game on Sunday. 

“I do feel like, before the hot streak, there were plenty of games where we weren't even really generating a ton of traffic for a good chunk of the game. So I still think we're doing a much better job as far as swing decisions and getting people out there [on base]. We just gotta get them in, and we will.” - Chad Tracy after his team’s loss against the Pirates in their game on Sunday. 

Geraldo Perdomo (S) SS

Corbin Carroll (L) RF

Gabriel Moreno (R) DH

Ketel Marte (S) 2B

Max Kepler (L) LF

Nolan Arenado (R) 3B

Tim Tawa (R) 1B

James McCann (R) C

Jorge Barrosa (S) CF

Nick Sogard (S) 1B

Ceddanne Rafaela (R) CF

Wilyer Abreu (L) RF

Adley Rutschman (S) DH

Caleb Durbin (R) 3B

Andruw Monasterio (R) SS

Jarren Duran (L) LF

Anthony Seigler (S) 2B

Connor Wong (R) C

Batting Average:  Jordan Lawlar (.316)

Hits:  Ketel Marte (117)

Home Runs:  Ketel Marte (21)

RBI:  Ketel Marte (67)

Stolen Bases:  Corbin Carroll (17)

Wins:  Eduardo Rodriguez (12)

Saves:  Paul Sewald (24)

ERA:  Gerardo Carrillo (0.66)

Batting Average:  Jake Rogers (.500)

Hits:  Ceddanne Rafaela (133)

Home Runs:  Willson Contreras (24)

RBI:  Willson Contreras (72)

Stolen Bases:  Jarren Duran (17)

Wins:  Sonny Gray (15)

Saves:  Aroldis Chapman (27)

ERA:  Erik Miller (0.00)

Managers:

Arizona Diamondbacks: Torey Lovullo (10th season)

Boston Red Sox: Chad Tracy (Interim)