AL Game of the Month MLB 10*
(MLB) Cleveland vs. Boston,
Money Line: -116.00 Cleveland (Away)
Result: Loss
#915 ASA TOP PLAY ON 10* Cleveland Guardians -115 over Boston Red Sox, Thursday at 7:10 PM ET - The Sox have fallen off a cliff in July and they’ve dropped to last place in the AL East. They’ve won only 6 of their 24 games this month and Cleveland has taken 2 of the first 3 in this series. The Guardians have outhit Boston in all 3 games of this series (+10 hits in the series) despite their 1 loss. Over the last 10 games, Boston is hitting .215 and averaging just 3.6 RPG. During that stretch they have lost by an AVERAGE of 5.8 runs per game and they’ve had 52 fewer hits than their opponents! We don’t look for that struggling offense to get right tonight vs Cleveland’s red hot Tristan McKenzie who has allowed a total of 1 ER in his last 4 starts spanning 26.2 innings. Opponents are hitting just .197 this season off McKenzie which is bad news for a Boston offense that is hitting just .235 this month. McKenzie is backed by a strong bullpen that ranks 10th in MLB in ERA. Cleveland, on the other hand, has been red hot at the plate averaging over 6 RPG while hitting over .300 as a team their last 10 games. For the month of July, the Guardians have the 3rd best batting average in the Majors at .275. They’ll be facing Crawford who has appeared in 14 games this season but has made only 5 starts. Crawford has only made 15 career appearances (1 last year) and his lifetime ERA in the Majors in those appearances is 5.32. Unlike Cleveland who has a solid bullpen, the Sox rank 25th in reliever ERA so when Crawford exits we don’t expect Boston to shut down this red hot Guardian offense. This is a short money line in our opinion and we’ll grab Cleveland tonight.