Cleveland Guardians Vs. Boston Red Sox (7/28/22) Starting Lineup, Betting Odds, Prediction

By Scott Steinberg | Jul 28, 2022, 8:25am

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The Guardians are 49-47 in their first 96 games of 2022, second place in the American League Central. They’re +400 to win the division; they last won the division in 2018. Cleveland has made the playoffs five times since 2012. The Guardians are +10000 to win the World Series; the last championship the franchise won was in 1948.

Boston is 49-49 through 98 games of the 2022 season: fifth place in the American League East. They are +20000 to win the AL East this season; their last division title was 2018. The Red Sox are +5500 to win their fifth World Series since 2000; their last title was 2018.

Cleveland Guardians Vs. Boston Red Sox Betting Odds

The Guardians are 15-7 in their last 22 during game four of a series. Over is 4-1 in Cleveland’s last five during game four of a series. The Guardians are 4-1 in their last five Thursday games. Under is 4-0 in Cleveland’s last four Thursday games. The Guardians are 2-6 in their last eight vs. American League East foes.

The Red Sox are 8-1 in their last nine vs. American League Central. Over is 4-1 in Boston’s last five during game four of a series. The Red Sox are 0-4 in their last four Thursday games. Over is 7-2 in Boston’s last nine home games vs. a team with a winning record. The Red Sox are 1-6 in their last seven vs. a team with a winning record.

Cleveland Guardians Starting Lineup

LF S. Kwan L
SS A. Rosario R
3B J. Ramirez S
1B J. Naylor L
DH F. Reyes R
2B A. Gimenez L
RF N. Jones L
C A. Hedges R
CF M. Straw R

Cleveland Guardians Vs. Kutter Crawford (R)

A four-time All-Star, Jose Ramirez is +4000 to win the American League MVP as he’s Cleveland’s biggest offensive threat in their lineup. The third baseman is hitting .289 with 32 doubles, four triples, 19 home runs and 79 runs driven in, third in Major League Baseball. Ramirez leads the Guardians in total bases (198), a slugging percentage (.567) and an OPS (.934) in 2022.

Josh Naylor is batting .280 with 13 home runs: second on the team this season. The first baseman also has 15 doubles, 52 runs driven in: second on the club while accumulating 123 total bases.

Andres Gimenez leads the Guardians in hitting with a .301 batting average in 2022. He’s hit 14 doubles, two triples, 11 home runs and knocked in 45 runs this season. He has 134 total bases with an OPS of .848 while slugging .486 in 2022. Amed Rosario is hitting .295 this season for the Guardians. The former New York Met prospect has 18 doubles, six triples, four home runs, 34 runs batted in with 150 total bases this year (second on the club).

Outfielder Steven Kwan has played well for Cleveland this season, batting .295 in over 300 at-bats. The 24-year-old has hit 14 doubles, three triples, two home runs, 27 runs driven in with 116 total bases in 2022.

Kutter Crawford has appeared in 14 games (five starts) this season, going 2-3 with a 4.50 ERA. He’s struck out 48 batters and allowed 21 runs in 42 innings with a 1.310 WHIP in 2022.

Boston Red Sox Starting Lineup

CF J. Duran L
LF A. Verdugo L
SS X. Bogaerts R
DH J. Martinez R
C C. Vazquez R
1B F. Cordero L
3B B. Dalbec R
RF J. Bradley L
2B Y. Sanchez S

Boston Red Sox Vs. Triston McKenzie (R)

An All-Star starter for a second straight season, Rafael Devers leads Boston in hitting with a .326 batting average. He’s hit 22 home runs which leads the Red Sox, driven in 55 runs with 204 toal bases. He’s currently on the 10-day injured list. Devers is +1800 to win the 2022 American League MVP. Second baseman, Trevor Story in first season as a Red Sox, has hit 15 home runs (second on the team) and leads Boston in runs batted in with 58. He’s currently on the 10-day injured list with a hand injury. Xander Bogaerts, now a four-time All-Star is hitting .317 with 26 doubles, seven home run, 39 runs batted in with 157 total bases. He also has a .42 slugging percentage with an OPS of .841 in 2022.

Alex Verdugo played in 146 games last season, batting .289 with 13 home runs and 63 runs batted in. Verdugo has hit six home runs with 50 runs batted in and 131 total bases. He has a slugging percentage of .369 with an OPS of .673 in 2022.

Christian Vazquez is hitting .277 through his first 270 at-bats of the season. He’s hit eight home runs, knocked in 40 runs with 118 total bases this year. Additionally, he has a slugging percentage of .431 and an OPS of .754 in 2022.

Triston McKenzie is 7-6 in 18 games (17 starts) with an ERA of 3.11 for the Guardians in 2022. The 6’5” right-hander has tossed 107 innings, striking out 100 with a 0.981 WHIP this year.

Cleveland Guardians Vs. Boston Red Sox Picks & Prediction

Cleveland is averaging 4.48 runs per nine innings, 16^th in Major League Baseball. They have a team batting average of .253, sixth in the league, and their OPS is .703, 16^th in all of MLB. The Guardians’ pitching staff is allowing 4.34 runs per nine innings, 16^th in the league with opponents’ batting .240 against the team, 14^th in MLB.

The Red Sox are averaging 4.59 runs per nine innings, 12^th in the majors, fifth in batting average at .255 and an OPS of .727, ninth in the big leagues. Boston’s pitching staff is allowing 4.75 runs per nine innings, 24^th in Major League Baseball and foes are hitting .247 against the Red Sox: 20^th in the big leagues.

I’m taking Cleveland in this game; covering the 1.5 run spread on the road due to being the healthier team as the Red Sox are missing Rafael Devers and Trevor Story from their lineup due to injury. The clubs combine to score under nine runs on Friday at Fenway Park.

Scott Steinberg

Scott has been a sports fan since he received a New York Mets jacket as a toddler. He’s been playing fantasy baseball and football for over 20 years, dating back to Frank Thomas being one of his first fantasy baseball picks. As a professional, he has covered the NFL, MLB, NCAAF, and NCAAB and is looked to as the go-to guy for fantasy sports amongst family, friends, and co-workers.