Red Sox vs. Guardians Prediction and Pick for Sunday, June 26 (A Tale of Two Sub-Par Starting Pitchers)

The Cleveland Guardians may be in first place in the AL Central, but they find themselves as moneyline underdogs on their home turf today. The Boston Red Sox are in town and on a heater with a four-game win streak in the week leading up to this series. They managed to win Game 1 and are in a decent spot here to secure a victory in the series finale.

The Red Sox have a lot of work to do if they have even the slightest hope of catching the New York Yankees in the AL East. A win here would be another step in the right direction but with Rich Hill on the mound. 

Here are the odds for this game from consensus sportsbooks.

Red Sox vs. Guardians Odds, Run Line, and Total

Run Line

• Red Sox: -1.5 (+140)
• Guardians: +1.5 (-170)

Moneyline:

• Red Sox: -107
• Guardians: -103

Total:

• Total 9.5 (Over +100/Under -120)

Red Sox vs. Guardians Prediction and Pick

On most days, I think this would be a game most MLB fans would look forward to watching. However, with Aaron Civale on the mound, the Guardians are in danger of getting blown out in this showdown.

Civale enters this matchup with a 7.25 ERA and 1.47 WHIP in 36 innings pitched. I will admit he was decent in his last start against the Twins where he allowed two runs over five innings. He's going to have to be a lot better than that against a streaking Red Sox team that ranks third in the MLB in batting average. Aside from their home run hitting, the Red Sox are a top 10 offense across the board. 

While I still can’t find it in myself to trust Hill, he continues to win games against bad teams. It’s kind of interesting but Hill hasn’t pitched against a winning team since he lost to the Tampa Bay Rays back on April 24. He has been beating up on the likes of the Tigers, A’s, Mariners, and Orioles for the better part of two months.

The Guardians don’t have a great offense, but they are at least average. I wonder how Hill will react to actually having some competition at the plate. I’m going to guess not well. Even against these bad teams, Hill has allowed two or more runs in three straight games and five of his last seven. 

With two potential powder kegs on the mound, I’m going to take a shot on the OVER and watch these two offenses have at it. 

Pick: OVER 9.5 (+100)

Follow all of Matt De Saro’s betting picks HERE