Guardians visit the Red Sox to start 3-game series

Updated Sep. 22, 2026 4:02 a.m. ET

Associated Press

Cleveland Guardians (81-75, first in the AL Central) vs. Boston Red Sox (84-72, third in the AL East)

Boston; Tuesday, 6:45 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Guardians: Parker Messick (12-9, 2.57 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, 186 strikeouts); Red Sox: Payton Tolle (9-6, 3.02 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, 166 strikeouts)

LINE: Red Sox -131, Guardians +108; over/under is 6 1/2 runs

BOTTOM LINE: The Boston Red Sox open a three-game series at home against the Cleveland Guardians on Tuesday.

Boston is 38-37 at home and 84-72 overall. The Red Sox have the third-best team ERA in MLB play at 3.59.

Cleveland is 40-35 in road games and 81-75 overall. The Guardians are 27-9 in games when they hit two or more home runs.

The teams play Tuesday for the fourth time this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Caleb Durbin has 25 doubles, a triple, 13 home runs and 64 RBIs while hitting .255 for the Red Sox. Trevor Story is 12 for 37 with two doubles and two home runs over the past 10 games.

Jo Adell leads the Guardians with 22 home runs while slugging .401. Travis Bazzana is 9 for 34 with four home runs and seven RBIs over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Red Sox: 4-6, .218 batting average, 3.34 ERA, outscored by four runs

Guardians: 7-3, .257 batting average, 3.89 ERA, outscored opponents by 14 runs

INJURIES: Red Sox: Willson Contreras: day-to-day (hand), Anthony Seigler: 10-Day IL (wrist), Curtis Mead: 10-Day IL (hand), Ceddanne Rafaela: 10-Day IL (quadricep), Zack Kelly: 60-Day IL (elbow), Johan Oviedo: 60-Day IL (elbow), Eli White: 10-Day IL (foot), Garrett Crochet: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Justin Slaten: 15-Day IL (elbow), Eduardo Rivera: 60-Day IL (back), Kutter Crawford: 60-Day IL (wrist), Masataka Yoshida: 10-Day IL (hamstring), Triston Casas: 60-Day IL (knee), Tanner Houck: 60-Day IL (elbow)

Guardians: Colin Holderman: 15-Day IL (wrist), Rhys Hoskins: 10-Day IL (back), Shawn Armstrong: 60-Day IL (leg)

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.