Boston Red Sox vs Cleveland Guardians 6/8/2023 Tips, Odds and Predictions
On June 8, 2023, at 7:10 p.m. ET, the Boston Red Sox will face the Cleveland Guardians in MLB play at Progressive Field in Ohio. The Boston Red Sox are tied 31-31 after three games in this series. The Red Sox came from behind to win the series 5-4 opening game on Tuesday night but then dropped the next game 5-2. The Red Sox had to scramble to find pitchers to keep the game close late. For the Sox, Kutter Crawford threw three innings, and Chris Murphy, a rookie call-up, tossed 3.1 innings of scoreless relief. Boston briefly led 2-1, but a spate of defensive errors cost them the edge.
Crawford and Murphy were both utilized on Wednesday night, so Corey Kluber will probably start on Thursday. After a challenging bulk of the season, the bullpen was Kluber’s new home on May 21. He has an 11-appearance record of 3-6, a 6.25 ERA, and nine starts. The Boston Red Sox manager, Alex Cora, likely hopes that Kluber can rekindle some of the magic that made him Cleveland’s ace pitcher for a number of seasons. This season, he has given up 11 home runs and has a K/9 rate 7.3.
Red Sox pitchers took the mound with runners on base 28 times, in addition to their 43 outings in high-stakes situations. Currently ranked 16th in MLB, the bullpen has recorded 31 saves thus far this season. The Red Sox bullpen entered the game with a total save percentage of 69.6% and 54 save opportunities. Although they have already made 16 saves this year, just seven of their 23 chances to do so have resulted in a save. 47 baserunners were inherited by relievers this season, and 34.0% of those runners advanced past first base. The Red Sox used 188 relievers throughout the course of the season.
- In four of Boston’s past five games, the total was under.
- The Boston Red Sox have a 1-4 SU record in their previous five contests.
- In their previous 20 games with Cleveland, the Boston Red Sox have a 14-6 SU record.
Boston Red Sox vs Cleveland Guardians 6/8/2023 Tips, Odds and Predictions
The Cleveland Guardians thought they had match one of this series in hand early on with ace pitcher Shane Bieber in the circle and a 2-0 lead. Instead, they fell short in a 5-4 loss by enabling the Red Sox to mount a comeback over the final three frames, scoring five runs. On Wednesday night, the Guardians bounced back with a 5-2 triumph courtesy of a 10-hit offense and four shutout innings from their bullpen. With Thursday’s game, Cleveland has a chance to win the series.
Cleveland will give right-handed Aaron Civale the ball for the third and final game of the series. Civale has played in three games this season and has a 2-1 record despite missing all of May due to injury. He has a 6.1 K/9 rate, a 1.08 WHIP, and an earned run average of 2.04. He was effective against Minnesota on Friday night after pitching five innings in a 1-0 Guardians loss while allowing four hits and no runs.
Cleveland bullpen pitchers advanced 22.9% of the 70 inherited runners. They utilized bullpen relievers 82 times in high-stakes situations and 51 times with runners on base. The Guardians had 71 chances to make saves, but only 35 were successful. They used 192 bullpen pitchers this season and are now ranked 16th in MLB with a 61.1% save percentage. Cleveland’s relievers entered the game and made 22 saves out of 36 chances.
- In four of Cleveland’s past five games, the total was under.
- The total was under in four of Cleveland’s last six games versus Boston.
- The total was under in eight of Cleveland’s past nine home games.
Boston Red Sox vs. Cleveland Guardians The MLB pick for this game is the Cleveland Guardians. The Red Sox offense failed to put up just two runs and six hits in game two after scoring five runs in game one, which resulted in a loss. Boston has averaged less than 3.5 runs per game in its previous 12 games. Due to Chris Sale’s injury, the Red Sox lately had to assemble a rotation; on Thursday night, they will ask Kluber to return to the starting lineup. Kluber has made nine starts this year and has an ERA above six, 11 home runs allowed, and control concerns. According to him, the Guardians squad, which had 10 hits on Wednesday and has recently been playing more assuredly, will need to be contained. In order to manage the late innings, Civale has a better bullpen than Kluber, and upon his return from the IL, he performed quite well. It’s expected that the Cleveland Guardians will triumph 7-3.
MLB Starting Time: 7:10 PM ET
Location: Progressive Field, OH
Date: Thursday, June 8, 2023
TV: Bally Sports Great Lakes
MLB Odds: Cleveland Guardians -115
MLB Totals: 8.5
