Boston Red Sox vs Cleveland Guardians Game 2 Pick – 4/26/2025

Boston Red Sox vs Cleveland Guardians Game 2 Betting Preview

The Cleveland Guardians and Boston Red Sox will lock horns in the second game of their double-header on Saturday, April 26, 2025. This game will be interesting to monitor, as the Sox and Guardians will hope that their bullpens are in good enough shape to deliver the goods in this contest from Progressive Field in Cleveland, OH.

For this matchup, the Guardians are projected to send Doug Nikhazy to the mound. With a less-than-stellar 262nd ranking among MLB starting pitchers, Nikhazy has struggled this season, averaging just 4.7 innings per start with a projected 2.2 earned runs allowed. His left-handed approach could be tested against a Red Sox offense that ranks 11th overall in the league.

On the other side, Boston will counter with Walker Buehler, who is performing at an average level with a 3-1 record and a 4.23 ERA. Buehler's recent form has been commendable, highlighted by a strong outing in which he allowed just one earned run over seven innings in his last start on April 21.

With both teams' moneylines set at -110, indicating a toss-up, the Guardians may provide better value considering their strong bullpen and the potential for Buehler to outperform expectations. This matchup promises to be intriguing, especially as it's the second game of a double-header, which could affect player usage and strategies.

Quick Takes Boston Red Sox:

The Cleveland Guardians have 8 hitters in the projected offense that will hold the platoon advantage against Walker Buehler today.

• Right-handed pitchers perform worse against left-handed hitters (and visa-versa). If several hitters hold this advantage against the pitcher, it can have a huge impact on whether he will perform well or struggle on any given day.

Rob Refsnyder is projected to hit 7th in the lineup in this matchup, which would be a downgrade from his 50% rate of hitting in the top-half of the batting order this season.

• The lower in the order a player bats, the fewer plate appearances he will get and the fewer opportunities he will get to hit the Over for every market. A player who hits lower in the order than he normally does may provide extra value opportunity since the market may be based on him hitting higher.

According to the leading projection system (THE BAT), the Boston Red Sox' bullpen ranks as the 6th-best among all teams in Major League Baseball.

• Most bettors only consider the starting pitcher, but a strong bullpen sneakily creates a tougher matchup for the opposing offense and suppresses a game's runs.

Quick Takes Cleveland Guardians:

The Cleveland Guardians infield defense profiles as the best among all the teams in action today.

• Defense is an integral part of preventing hits and runs.

Nolan Jones has seen a sizeable gain in his exit velocity this year; just compare his 95.6-mph average to last year's 88.3-mph mark.

• Hitting the ball hard increases the chances of either a home run or the ball landing in fair territory for a hit before a fielder can get to it.

Jose Ramirez pulls a high percentage of his flyballs (41.7% — 99th percentile) and sets up very well considering he'll be hitting them towards baseball's 5th-shallowest RF fences in today's matchup.

• This player's skill set matches up particularly well with the park he's in today, which may lead to better-than-usual performance.

Game Trends

• The Cleveland Guardians have hit the Moneyline in 8 of their last 12 games (+4.95 Units / 38% ROI)
• The Boston Red Sox have hit the Team Total Under in 9 of their last 12 away games (+5.30 Units / 34% ROI)

Boston Red Sox vs Cleveland Guardians Game 2 Prediction

Predicted Final Score: Boston Red Sox 4.03, Cleveland Guardians 3.95

• Date: April 26, 2025
• Venue: Progressive Field
• Starting Pitchers:
  • Walker Buehler - Red Sox
  • Doug Nikhazy - Guardians

For more on today's game check out the comprehensive statistics, betting odds, and trends below. Be sure to check out all our free MLB picks here.