Boston Red Sox at Cleveland Guardians 6/24/22 - MLB Picks & Predictions

Progressive Field will play host to a Friday night battle between the Boston Red Sox and the Cleveland Guardians. The Red Sox (39-31) have reeled off four straight victories and trail Toronto by a half-game for second place in the AL East Division. On Wednesday, Boston OF Rob Refsnyder hit a two-run blast during a 6-2 home victory versus Detroit.

Twenty-nine year old righty Nick Pivetta (7-5 3.31 ERA) will take the mound for the Red Sox in this matchup. Pivetta has won consecutive starts and has limited opponents to two runs over his last 15 innings.

The Cleveland Guardians have won eight of their last ten games and are in a virtual tie with Minnesota for the top spot in the AL Central Division. On Thursday, Cleveland went 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position and left eight men on base during a 1-0 road loss against Minnesota. SP Zach Plesac (2-5) allowed one run in six innings and was the hard-luck loser for the Guardians (36-29).

The Guardians will counter with twenty-seven year old righty Cal Quantrill (4-4 3.77 ERA) in the series opener. Last time out, Quantrill surrendered ten hits and five runs during a 7-1 road loss against the Los Angeles Dodgers.