Overview

• First pitch is set for 1:35 p.m. EDT at Fenway Park with Brayan Bello starting for Boston opposite Cleveland rookie Parker Messick.
• The Red Sox enter at 76-62 in third place in the AL East, and the Guardians are 68-67 in third in the AL Central, with Boston 3½ games back of the Blue Jays and a half-game behind the Yankees for the first wild card.
• Bello is coming off two standout outings — 6⅔ innings with one earned run vs. the Orioles after seven scoreless vs. the Yankees — and is 1-0 with a 3.27 ERA in two career starts against Cleveland.
• Messick has allowed one earned run over his first two major-league starts spanning 13⅔ innings and has yet to face any Red Sox hitters.
• Boston’s recent home slide includes five straight losses with three or fewer runs scored, as the club also reportedly extended closer Aroldis Chapman for 2026 with a mutual option and he has retired 44 consecutive batters without allowing a hit.