Boston Red Sox at Cleveland Guardians, 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 CLE.
Game center
From the ESPN box score.
Top performers
Red Sox- Wilyer AbreuBatting1-4, 1 HR, 1 RBI
- Tanner HouckPitching6.0 IP, 2 ER, 4 K
Guardians- Jose RamirezBatting1-4, 1 HR, 1 RBI
- Ben LivelyPitching6.1 IP, 1 ER, 7 K
Scoring summary
- 8Florial doubled to right, Freeman scored.1–4
- 8Pitch 5 : Ball In Play1–4
- 8Pitch 4 : Ball 21–4
- 8Pitch 3 : Strike 2 Foul1–4
- 8Pitch 2 : Strike 1 Looking1–4
- 8Pitch 1 : Ball 11–4
- 8Ramírez homered to right (360 feet).1–3
- 8Pitch 4 : Ball In Play1–3
- 8Pitch 3 : Strike 2 Foul1–3
- 8Pitch 2 : Strike 1 Foul1–3
- 8Pitch 1 : Ball 11–3
- 7Rocchio hit sacrifice fly to left, Freeman scored.1–2
- 7Pitch 1 : Ball In Play1–2
- 7Freeman singled to center, Brennan scored.1–1
- 7Pitch 3 : Ball In Play1–1
- 7Pitch 2 : Strike 2 Swinging1–1
- 7Pitch 1 : Strike 1 Looking1–1
- 7Abreu homered to right (378 feet).1–0
- 7Pitch 5 : Ball In Play1–0
- 7Pitch 4 : Ball 21–0
- 7Pitch 3 : Ball 11–0
- 7Pitch 2 : Strike 2 Swinging1–0
- 7Pitch 1 : Strike 1 Swinging1–0
The pick
Reconstructed from what was known before the game: the ratings at that point and the closing line.
Guardians 53%
Forecast Elo ratings alone
How often that comes true: MLB favorites the forecast gave 50–55% have won 52.7% of 2,871 graded games.
- Market
- CLE 53%
- ML BOS +105 / CLE -125
- Pre-line forecast
- CLE 51%
- Elo + market-implied
- Elo ratings
- CLE 50%
- Ratings vs. market
- −3.0 pts
- CLE: Elo 50.2%, market 53.2%
- Fair odds
- CLE -114
- BOS +114 · the forecast as odds, no margin
- Pregame projection
- BOS 3.9 – 4.1 CLE
- Margin from the forecast, posted total 8
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 | BOS | CLE | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Team rating | 1503 | 1511 | Elo entering the game; 1500 is league average |
| Home field | — | +18 | Worth 18 Elo in MLB |
| Starting pitchers | +6 | −19 | BOS: Tanner Houck: team allows 0.28 fewer runs than with its usual starter (≈9 weighted starts) · CLE: Ben Lively: team allows 0.94 more runs than with its usual starter (≈7 weighted starts) |
| Elo ratings | CLE +1 Elo | CLE 50.2% | |
| Market-implied ratings | CLE 51.6% | Team strength as past closing lines priced it, same game context | |
| Pre-line forecast | CLE 51.4% | 15% Elo, 85% market-implied (log-odds blend) | |
| Forecast | CLE 53.2% | 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.
| BOS | Stat | CLE |
|---|---|---|
| 13th of 304.5 | Runs scored | 5.63rd of 30 |
| 5th of 303.7 | Runs allowed | 3.32nd of 30 |
| 9th of 30+0.8 | Margin | +2.41st of 30 |
| 8th of 306–4 | Last 10 | 7–33rd of 30 |
| 1st of 3010–3 | Road vs home | 6–33rd 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 |  BOS |  CLE |
|---|---|---|
| Run line | 13–10 | 17–5 |
| Last 10 | 5–5 | 8–2 |
| Favorite | 3–8 | 7–4 |
| Underdog | 10–2 | 10–1 |
| Overs–unders | 10–12–1 | 14–7–1 |
| Overs–unders, last 10 | 3–7 | 7–3 |
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
BOS 4–6 CLE in their last 10 meetings; the forecast called 5 of 10.