Cleveland Guardians vs. Boston Red Sox July 25 Betting Preview

After splitting a four-game series with the Chicago White Sox, the Cleveland Guardians (48-46) will head east to take on the Boston Red Sox (48-48) in a four-game series starting Monday. The game will be played at Fenway Park with first pitch scheduled for 7:10 pm ET.

Over the weekend, Cleveland was able to take the first two games of their series with Chicago, but dropped the last two including a 6-3 loss on Sunday. In the loss, Shane Bieber went six innings, allowing six runs on eight hits.

Offensively, the Guardians hit two home runs including Franmil Reyes’ ninth. While the Guardians managed 11 hits, they left 14 stranded on base.

Boston had a rough weekend as they were swept by the Toronto Blue Jays in three games. In total, Boston was outscored 40-10, but that was in large part to the fact that they lost the first game on Friday 28-5.

In Sunday’s 8-4 loss to Toronto, Jackie Bradley Jr. hit his third home run of the game, but Brayan Bello took the loss after giving up five runs in four innings.

The Red Sox are the favorites on Monday playing at home. They are -112 to win while the Guardians’ moneyline sits at -104. The runline features Boston +1.5 (-188), and the over/under for total runs is 9.5.

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Pitching Matchup

Zach Plesac will take the mound on Monday for the opener. In 17 games this season, he is 2-7 with a 4.02 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, and he has 68 strikeouts in 94 innings. He took a no-decision in his last start after allowing two runs on six hits in 3.2 innings of work against Detroit.

For the Red Sox, they will counter with righty Nick Pivetta. In 19 games, he is 8-7 with a 4.50 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, and has 104 strikeouts in 108 innings. Pivetta has been roughed up lately as he has allowed 20 runs in his last 13.1 innings combined over three starts.

Cleveland Looks To Inch Closer To .500 On The Road

At 48-46, the Guardians find themselves in second place in the AL Central, three games behind the Minnesota Twins. If they want to catch Minnesota, though, they have to play better on the road. To date, they are just 23-27 outside of Progressive Field.

Trying to help his club get back on track is third baseman Jose Ramirez. He leads the offense this season as he is hitting .287/.362/.570 with 19 home runs, 78 runs batted in, 54 runs, and 13 stolen bases.

Keep an eye on both Austin Hedges and Andres Gimenez in this one as they have both had success against Pivetta. While Hedges is just two for nine against the righty, both hits have been home runs. For Gimenez, he is two for three with a solo homer.

Boston Trying To Forget Weekend Series

To say that the drubbing the Red Sox took from Toronto this weekend was the rock bottom of Boston’s season might be an understatement. Now sitting at .500 overall, half game ahead of the Baltimore Orioles for last in the division, the Red Sox have to try to forget the weekend and find a way to get back in the win column.

Unfortunately for Boston, they have been in a huge slump having lost nine of their last 10, and they are just mediocre at home at 23-23 this season.

One player who is hitting well at home is Rafael Devers. In 148 at bats at Fenway Park this season, he is hitting .331/.400/.615 with 10 home runs, 24 runs batted in, and 28 runs scored.

Cleveland Catching Boston At The Right Time

Stuck in a five game losing streak, the Cleveland Guardians may be catching Boston at a perfect time. Boston’s offense is solid, but it can only do so much when their defense has given up 67 runs in the last five games.

Granted, Zach Plesac has struggled to pick up wins this season, but if the Guardians’ offense can jump out strong early on, the Plesac should be able to do enough to give the team a chance to win.