Houck expected to start as Boston hosts Cleveland

Updated Sep. 4, 2021 3:40 a.m. ET

Associated Press

Cleveland Indians (67-65, second in the AL Central) vs. Boston Red Sox (78-59, third in the AL East)

Boston; Saturday, 4:10 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Indians: Eli Morgan (2-6, 5.98 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 61 strikeouts) Red Sox: Tanner Houck (0-3, 3.63 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 55 strikeouts)

LINE: Red Sox -193, Indians +165; over/under is 10 runs

BOTTOM LINE: Jose Ramirez and the Indians will take on the Red Sox Saturday.

The Red Sox are 42-26 in home games in 2020. The Boston offense has compiled a .259 batting average as a team this season, Xander Bogaerts leads the team with a mark of .298.

The Indians have gone 32-35 away from home. Cleveland hitters have posted a team on-base percentage of .302 this season, led by Myles Straw with a mark of .341.

The Red Sox won the last meeting 8-5. Adam Ottavino earned his fourth victory and Kyle Schwarber went 2-for-5 with a double, a home run and three RBIs for Boston. Cal Quantrill took his third loss for Cleveland.

TOP PERFORMERS: Rafael Devers leads the Red Sox with 99 RBIs and is batting .277.

Jose Ramirez leads the Indians with 65 extra base hits and is batting .262.

LAST 10 GAMES: Red Sox: 6-4, .263 batting average, 4.25 ERA, outscored opponents by eight runs

Indians: 6-4, .268 batting average, 3.82 ERA, outscored opponents by 10 runs

INJURIES: Red Sox: Martin Perez: (covid-19), Darwinzon Hernandez: (oblique), Eduard Bazardo: (lat), Matt Barnes: (covid-19), Jarren Duran: (covid-19), Yairo Munoz: (covid-19), Kike Hernandez: (health protocols), Xander Bogaerts: (covid-19), Christian Arroyo: (health protocols).

Indians: Nick Sandlin: (shoulder), Aaron Civale: (finger), Shane Bieber: (shoulder), Josh Naylor: (ankle), Ernie Clement: (health protocols), Wilson Ramos: (knee), Roberto Perez: (shoulder).

___

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