Boston vs Cleveland Odds, Picks, and Probable Pitchers (August 28)

• The Boston Red Sox are road favorites over Cleveland on Saturday afternoon
• Boston sends Nathan Eovaldi (10-8, 3.72) to the mound to face Cleveland’s Cal Quantrill (4-2, 3.04)
• The odds and pitching matchups can be found below with a prediction

The Boston Red Sox try to maintain their lead for the second spot in the American League Wild Card standings over the A’s and Mariners against Cleveland at 4:05 pm ET Saturday in the second game of a three-game series at Progressive Field.

The BoSox have sputtered their way through the month of August, going 10-13 entering the three-game set against interim manager DeMarlo Hale’s club. The home team hasn’t fared much better, going 12-12 entering the series at Progressive. But with veteran Nathan Eovaldi getting the start for the postseason contenders, the Red Sox are favored Saturday.

Boston vs Cleveland Odds

Odds as of August 27h at DraftKings

Probable Pitchers

On the mound, Eovaldi (10-8, 3.72) squares off against Cleveland’s Cal Quantrill (4-2, 3.04).

Quantrill was traded to Cleveland last year as part of the Mike Clevinger deal. While Clevinger has missed the entire 2021 campaign recovering from Tommy John Surgery, Quantrill has begun to blossom.

After spending most of the first two months of the season in the bullpen, the 26-year-old became a starter consistently in June and has really flourished in the last two months. He’s tossed a quality start in seven of his last ten outings, going 4-0 in that stretch and lowering his ERA from 4.11 at the end of June to 3.04 now.

Eovaldi vs Quantrill

The son of former big league pitcher Paul Quantrill went seven shutout innings in his last outing against the Angels Sunday. At the MLB  Little League Classic in Williamsport, he allowed just two hits and two walks while striking out nine in a 3-0 Cleveland victory.

Quantrill is 3-0 with a 2.51 ERA in 10 home starts (18 appearances) this season. In six day game starts (11 appearances), he has a 1-1 record and 3.66 ERA.

Pay attention to Cal Quantrill.

He's been doing some special things lately.#OurCLE pic.twitter.com/tBfhJp8VBj

— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) August 23, 2021

As for Eovaldi, the 31-year-old has tossed ten quality starts out of his 25 rotation turns in 2021. That includes two of his last three outings — with both ending in Red Sox wins. In his most recent effort Monday against the Rangers, the well-traveled starter went seven innings, allowing four hits, an earned run and no walks while striking out seven in an 8-4 victory.

Eovaldi is 4-5 with a 5.02 ERA in ten starts on the road in 2021 (compared to 6-3 with a 3.00 ERA in 15 starts at Fenway). He’s 5-3 with a 3.65 ERA in 12 day game starts.

Nathan Eovaldi, Messing with Timing.

98mph Quick Pitch Fastball & 99mph Leg Hang Fastball, Overlay pic.twitter.com/8bXPTX9xtQ

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) August 23, 2021

Guardians of the Gate

Cleveland — which will change its name to the Guardians next season — has played well heading into the series opener Friday. Amed Rosario has paced the squad, going 11-for-26 with two homers, five RBI and seven runs scored in his previous seven games.

Amed Rosario continues doing what he does best … Hit.#OurCLE pic.twitter.com/n6hPtcDfS3

— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) August 22, 2021

The shortstop isn’t the only hot bat in Hale’s lineup, though. Five players, led by Franmil Reyes’ three-hit night, had multiple hits in a 10-6 victory Thursday over Texas heading into the series with Boston.

Reyes has also been hitting well all week, going 7-for-21 (.333) with a pair of dingers and a team-high nine RBI in six games prior to Thursday’s game against the Rangers.

Cleveland vs Nathan Eovaldi

Meantime, only three probable hitters in Boston’s lineup — Kyle Schwarber, Alex Verdugo and Kike Hernandez — have faced Quantrill. The trio have a decent history against the Canadian, going 4-for-9 (.444) with a double, home run and a pair of runs driven run.

But Bobby Dalbec was the revelation for Boston on Thursday in a 12-2 blowout win over the Twins. The 26-year-old rookie exploded for 7 RBI in a 3-for-4 night at the plate that included his 15th and 16th big flies of the season.

Boston vs Cleveland Pick

Even though Boston is favored and Eovaldi has more experience than Quantrill, Cleveland seems like the right play in this spot. Eovaldi’s ERA is over two whole runs worse on the road and Cleveland has a slew of players swinging it right.

Quantrill has been flat-out rolling of late and I see no reason to go against that trend Saturday.

The Pick: Cleveland +140

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