Boston Red Sox vs. Cleveland Guardians June 26 Betting Preview

After having their streak of seven series wins snapped, the Cleveland Guardians (36-31) will be looking to salvage the finale of their series with the Boston Red Sox (41-31) on Sunday. The Guardians will host this one at Progressive Field, with the first pitch scheduled for 1:40 p.m.

On Saturday, the Red Sox were able to take the second game of the series 4-2. Josh Winckowski picked up the win after going 5.1 innings, allowing two runs on six hits.

Offensively, Alex Verdugo delivered the big blow as he hit a three-run home run in the fifth inning off of Shane Bieber. Jarren Duran added four hits out of the leadoff spot for the Red Sox.

The home run by Verdugo was the only damage that Shane Bieber allowed in the loss. In total, he went seven innings, allowing three runs on six hits while striking out four.

Cleveland was able to scrape together seven hits and three walks, but they also left 16 runners stranded on base. Amed Rosario and Jose Ramirez had the lone runs batted in.

Betting Odds

The Red Sox are slight favorites playing on the road. They are -109 to win while the Guardians’ moneyline sits at -101. The runline features Cleveland +1.5 (-165), and the over/under for total runs is nine.

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Pitching Matchup

The Red Sox will send veteran lefty Rich Hill to the mound in the finale. The 42-year-old is 3-4 in 13 games with a 4.35 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, and has 50 strikeouts in 60 innings of work.

The Guardians will counter with righty Aaron Civale. In eight games, Civale has largely struggled this season as he sports a 7.25 ERA, 1.47 WHIP, and has 37 strikeouts in 36 innings. He was better in his last start, though, giving up just two earned runs to the Twins in five innings while striking out seven.

Boston Looks For Sweep

With their win on Saturday, the Boston Red Sox have moved into second place in the AL East. Even though they still sit 11 games behind the Yankees, they have the third-best record in the American League.

On Sunday, they will try to stay red hot and go for the sweep against Cleveland. Coming into play, they are 8-2 in their last ten and are 21-15 on the road.

The only Boston hitter that has seen Civale is Jackie Bradley Jr., and he is hitless in just two at bats. Against righties, Rafael Devers had done the most damage hitting .338/.397/.642 with 14 home runs and 33 runs batted in.

Guardians Look To Get Back On Track

With their two losses this series, the Guardians have moved to second place in the AL Central, a game behind the Minnesota Twins. With Cleveland welcoming Minnesota in for five games starting Monday, they would love to pick up some momentum and salvage the last game of this series.

Keep an eye on Jose Ramirez in this one, as he has hit Rich Hill very well in his career. In eight at bats, he has four hits, including a home run and three runs batted in. Franmil Reyes (.333 in 12 at bats, 2 RBI), Amed Rosario (.375 in eight at bats), and Austin Hedges (HR, 3 RBI) have also had some success.

With a strong pitching staff and solid offense, the Guardians will look to improve on their 10th-best run differential in baseball, which currently sits at +33 runs.

Cleveland Needs Strong Performance From Civale

While Rich Hill is still a serviceable veteran, he is far removed from being a dominant presence on the mound. As such, the Guardians should be able to get to him for some runs, but the real question is whether Aaron Civale can keep Boston from doing their own damage.

It all depends on what Civale shows up. If he pitches like he did last time, where he was able to minimize damage, the Guardians could be in good shape. However, if he pitches like he did for most of the early part of the season, Cleveland could be facing the reality of being swept at home.

Either way, this should be a competitive ballgame and one that should stay relatively close throughout with two above-average offenses.