Cleveland Guardians vs. Boston Red Sox Picks, Predictions, Odds

Cleveland Guardians vs. Boston Red Sox Betting Analysis

The Red Sox host the Guardians in the fourth contest of a four-game set at Fenway Park on Thursday, July 28, 2022.

Despite posting a 25-28 record away from Progressive Field, Cleveland is in second place in the American League Central with an overall record of 50-47, which trails the first placed Minnesota Twins by 1.5 games. Boston is positioned fifth in the American League East standings with a record of 49-50 overall and 24-25 at home, which puts the Red Sox 17 games behind Milwaukee for the division lead.

Updated on 03/29/2024
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Cleveland Guardians vs. Boston Red Sox Betting Prediction

The Guardians send RHP Triston McKenzie to the hill against Boston’s 12th ranked scoring offense on Thursday night (4.57 RSPG), who’s having the best campaign of his young career sitting 7-6 with a 3.11 ERA across 18 outings this season (0.98 WHIP), which is an enormous step up from the 5-9 record and 4.95 ERA he posted last year (1.18 WHIP).

On the other hand, the Red Sox send RHP Kutter Crawford to the mound against Cleveland’s 15th ranked scoring offense tonight (4.42 RSPG), who’s been incredibly inconsistent since getting called up to the big leagues, considering he’s 2-4 with a 5.32 ERA in 15 career appearances (1.41 WHIP); which includes a 5.14 ERA and 1.29 WHIP across five starts (26 IP), and a 5.63 ERA and 1.63 WHIP across nine bullpen outings (16 IP).

I’ll back Cleveland here, as McKenzie has tossed five innings or more and allowed one run or less in four straight outings for the Guardians (0.34 ERA, 0.79 WHIP); likely presenting an uphill battle for the Red Sox and Crawford, who’s 0-2 with a 4.71 ERA across his last four starts for Boston (1.14 WHIP).

Score Prediction: Guardians 6, Red Sox 4
Best Bet: Guardians ML (-120)

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Cleveland Guardians vs. Boston Red Sox Betting Odds

Cleveland Guardians vs. Boston Red Sox Betting Resources

  • Date: Thursday, July 28, 2022
  • Matchup: AL Central vs. AL East
  • Venue: Fenway Park
  • Location: Boston, Massachusetts
  • Time-TV: 7:10 p.m. ET – MLB.tv

Cleveland Guardians vs. Boston Red Sox – Current Form

The Guardians won against the Tigers last Saturday 3-0 and then split the series with the White Sox last Sunday. Their best performance was on Thursday, when they limited the Tigers to scoring no runs in the first contest of a three-game series. They dominated the Detroit Tigers with 10 runs on Saturday, in the third of a three-game series. The fifth-place Red Sox have now lost back-to-back series against the Yankees and the Blue Jays. In Saturday’s game, the second of three they played against the Toronto Blue Jays, the offense of Boston only managed to produce one run.

In the most recent six games, the one played on Friday against the Toronto Blue Jays was their worst. The defense of Boston allowed 28 runs.

Cleveland Guardians vs. Boston Red Sox – Pitching Matchup

Cleveland: Triston McKenzie (7-6, 3.11 ERA)

Triston McKenzie will make his 17th start of the season for Cleveland, who’s hoping to find some traction after posting a 7-6 record and 3.11 ERA thus far, while tallying a 0.98 WHIP, 29 walks, and 100 strikeouts across 107 innings of action. McKenzie didn’t factor in the decision in his last start, which came on the road against the Chicago White Sox on July 23, 2022. He allowed one run on four hits with two walks and four strikeouts in an eventual 4-7 the Guardians defeat. Pitching on the road this season, McKenzie is 4-5 with a 3.23 ERA, a 1.02 WHIP, 19 walks and 58 strikeouts over 69.2 innings in 11 starts.

Boston: Kutter Crawford (2-3, 4.50 ERA)

Boston’ right-hander Kutter Crawford takes the mound for his fifth start of the season. Crawford looks to improve on a 2-3 record and 4.50 ERA in 42 innings, while striking out 48, walking 16 batters, and posting a 1.31 WHIP. Crawford lost his most recent start against the Toronto Blue Jays, as Boston’s right-hander surrendered three runs on five hits, one walk, and four strikeouts during the Red Sox’ 1-4 home loss on July 23, 2022. Crawford owns a home record of 1-2 this season, in three starts at Fenway Park. In those outings, he has posted a 4.94 ERA, a 1.27 WHIP, nine walks, and 25 strikeouts in 23.2 innings of work.

Cleveland Guardians vs. Boston Red Sox – Series History

The 2021 series was owned by Boston, who produced a 4-2 mark in the regular season matchups. In the first six games of this season, Boston has come away with wins four times.