Cleveland Guardians at Boston Red Sox, MLB forecast
Win probability
Starts from the pregame forecast, then moves with the score and the time left after each inning. Above the line favors BOS.
Game center
From the ESPN box score.
Top performers
Guardians- Jose RamirezBatting1-3
- Ben LivelyPitching5.0 IP, 2 ER, 7 K
Red Sox- Connor WongBatting2-3, 1 HR, 1 RBI
- Tanner HouckPitching9.0 IP, 0 ER, 9 K
Scoring summary
- 4Wong homered to left center (366 feet).0–2
- 4Pitch 2 : Ball In Play0–2
- 4Pitch 1 : Strike 1 Looking0–1
- 3Reyes scored on a balk, Duran to third on a balk.0–1
- 3Reyes scored on a balk, Duran to third on a balk.0–1
The pick
Reconstructed from what was known before the game: the ratings at that point and the closing line.
Red Sox 55%
Forecast Elo ratings alone
How often that comes true: MLB favorites the forecast gave 55–60% have won 55.5% of 2,596 graded games.
- Market
- BOS 55%
- ML CLE +115 / BOS -135
- Pre-line forecast
- BOS 54%
- Elo + market-implied
- Elo ratings
- BOS 55%
- Ratings vs. market
- −0.6 pts
- BOS: Elo 54.6%, market 55.3%
- Fair odds
- BOS -124
- CLE +124 · the forecast as odds, no margin
- Pregame projection
- CLE 4.0 – 4.5 BOS
- Margin from the forecast, posted total 8.5
How the number is built
Elo inputs in rating points (higher favors that team; 25–28 Elo is about a point of spread in football and basketball), then how the pieces combine.
| Factor | CLE | BOS | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Team rating | 1505 | 1495 | Elo entering the game; 1500 is league average |
| Home field | — | +18 | Worth 18 Elo in MLB |
| Starting pitchers | −27 | −2 | CLE: Ben Lively: team allows 1.35 more runs than with its usual starter (≈7 weighted starts) · BOS: Tanner Houck: team allows 0.09 more runs than with its usual starter (≈9 weighted starts) |
| Elo ratings | BOS +32 Elo | BOS 54.6% | |
| Market-implied ratings | BOS 53.5% | Team strength as past closing lines priced it, same game context | |
| Pre-line forecast | BOS 53.7% | 15% Elo, 85% market-implied (log-odds blend) | |
| Forecast | BOS 55.3% | Follows the market (vig removed): in testing, adding the ratings made it less accurate | |
Tale of the tape
This season coming into the game, regular season, each number with its league rank (the longer the bar, the higher). Home and road: the host's record at home against the visitor's on the road.
| CLE | Stat | BOS |
|---|---|---|
| 4th of 305.7 | Runs scored | 4.416th of 30 |
| 2nd of 303.5 | Runs allowed | 4.211th of 30 |
| 1st of 30+2.2 | Margin | +0.215th of 30 |
| 2nd of 307–3 | Last 10 | 3–726th of 30 |
| 1st of 309–2 | Road vs home | 2–627th of 30 |
Rating history
Each team's Elo over the last two seasons. Hover or drag to compare on any date.
Recent form
Last five results, and whether the forecast hit.
Against the line
How each team has done against the closing spread and total, coming into this game.
| This season |  CLE |  BOS |
|---|---|---|
| Run line | 13–4 | 9–9 |
| Last 10 | 7–3 | 3–7 |
| Favorite | 4–4 | 2–7 |
| Underdog | 9–0 | 7–2 |
| Overs–unders | 10–6–1 | 8–9–1 |
| Overs–unders, last 10 | 5–5 | 4–5–1 |
Against each game's closing line. Books set every line knowing these records: across 3,901 past games, the team with the better record against the spread so far that season covered 51.2%, short of the 52.4% a standard −110 bet needs, and over/under streaks held 48.0% of the time. They describe the past.
Head to head
CLE 5–3 BOS in their last 8 meetings; the forecast called 4 of 8.