Cleveland vs Boston | Predictions

Cleveland Indians vs. Boston Red Sox
7:10 PM Thurday August 5 – MLBN
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Pitching Probables: Josh Tomlin vs Daisuke Matsuzaka

Cleveland is decidedly out of the race and giving their prospects the opportunity to prove they can be Major Leaguers. Rookie callup Josh Tomlin has made two starts since joining the big club and wasn’t fazed with facing the powerful lineups of the Toronto Blue Jays and New York Yankees. In 12 total innings he has given up only 7 hits and 2 runs while walking jjust 2 – impressive. The book is still open on him as he faces another American League East team not shy about scoring runs in the Red Sox. Cleveland has won two of three in the series playing spoiler to a Boston team that has little margin for error at this point. Tomlin may have a bit of an edge due to infamiliarity but the Indians would be wise to give him some support. Their offense can be very hit and miss especially without key bats like Carlos Santana and Travis Hafner. These Indians are a tough team to back despite very good payouts.

In my opinion the Red Sox are done! They have some very important players on the disables list, including the recently added Kevin Youkilis who is out for the year. They didn’t add any reinforcements before the deadline and should be regretting that now. They also seem to have lost their mojo with their haphazard lineups, beating good teams but them struggling against bad ones like Cleveland. This is likely because their pitching has been really letting them down. Clay Buchholz and Jon Lester have been very good but Josh Beckett is having a lost season and you never know with the other starters including Matsuzaka. Add in a bullpen with a penchant for blowing a lead and it makes for a disappointing season (What happenened to Jonathan Papelbon?).

The odds makers have the Red Sox as a -1½ point favorite with a run total of 9.

Prediction: Add another unexpected loss to the Red Sox column in this one. Tomlin doesn’t blow guys away but he is proving he can pitch, maybe in a Charles Nagy mold.

Score Prediction: (I know who can predict a baseball score)
Cleveland Indians – 5
Boston Red Sox – 4

Cleveland Indians Betting Trends:

• Cleveland is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games
• Cleveland is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games on the road
• Cleveland is 7-18 SU in its last 25 games when playing Boston
• Cleveland is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing Boston

Boston Red Sox Betting Trends:

• Boston is 6-3 SU in its last 9 games
• Boston is 18-7 SU in its last 25 games when playing Cleveland
• Boston is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games when playing Cleveland
• Boston is 6-2 SU in its last 8 games when playing at home against Cleveland