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FinalFinal lineupsAL Central / AL East

Cleveland Guardians 3, Boston Red Sox 2

Final Score and Game Recap

Final score, pitching lines and standings context.

6:45 PM ET · Fenway ParkGame-day snapshot Sep 24, 2:01 AM ETFinal lineups lockedCurrent 2026 season stats — updated Oct 8, 5:01 AM ET
T-Score54
Cleveland Guardians
85–77 · 1st AL Central · T-Score 54
3
3–2
FINAL · 9 innings
Boston Red Sox
87–75 · 3rd AL East · T-Score 54
2
T-Score54
FINAL · 9 innings
Pitching recap
PitcherTeamRoleIPHERBBKP
Parker MessickCLE
Starter
5.0511596
Hunter GaddisCLE
ReliefWin
1.0210218
Cade SmithCLE
ReliefSave
1.0001116
Payton TolleBOS
Starter
5.2822591
Erik MillerBOS
ReliefLoss
1.0211022
Scoring by inning
123456789RHE
CLECleveland Guardians0200000013120
BOSBoston Red Sox010000010281
Top hitters
Mickey Gasper1-for-1 · 1 HR · 1 RBI
David Fry1-for-3 · 1 RBI · 1 R
Andruw Monasterio0-for-3 · 1 RBI · 1 BB
Angel Martínez3-for-4 · 1 R
Adley Rutschman3-for-4 · 1 R

Matchup at a glance

PitcherStat calculation
CategoryComparisonWhy
Starting pitcherEvenBoth starters enter with comparable season profiles; neither holds a meaningful statistical advantage.
Offense vs handSoxBoston has produced the stronger offense against left-handed pitching.
LineupSoxBoston's official lineup includes 5 right-handed bats against the opposing starter.
Recent formGuardiansCleveland has won 7 of its last 10 and owns the stronger recent run differential.
WeatherModerate impactA 5 mph wind could modestly increase carry on fly balls.

Pregame contextStarting pitchers

CLE
Parker Messick LHP
Parker Messick
Cleveland Guardians
2026 season (MLB rank among qualified starters)
ERA
2.57
10th
WHIP
1.04
20th
K/9
9.39
54th
BB/9
2.37
42nd
P-Score75i
FIP
–
HR/9
0.86
33rd
OPS/R
–
IP
178.1
Last 5 starts
ERA
2.76
QUALITY
START %
80%
(4 of 5)
DAYS
REST
6
BOS
Payton Tolle LHP
Payton Tolle
Boston Red Sox
2026 season (MLB rank among qualified starters)
ERA
3.02
30th
WHIP
1.07
28th
K/9
10.45
27th
BB/9
2.39
45th
P-Score72i
FIP
–
HR/9
0.94
50th
OPS/R
–
IP
143.0
Last 5 starts
ERA
3.21
QUALITY
START %
40%
(2 of 5)
DAYS
REST
9
How the starters differ
·Tolle owns a 10.4 K/9 compared with Messick's 9.4.
·Messick has produced a quality start in 80% of outings versus 40%.
·Messick enters with a 2.22 road ERA; Tolle owns a 3.52 ERA at home.
·Messick is on 6 days of rest; Tolle is on 9.

Cleveland’s Five-Game Winning Streak Reaches Fenway

Five straight wins have Cleveland back at Fenway with momentum and little margin in the AL Central. The Guardians are 81-75 and lead the division, while Boston is 84-72 and holds the second AL Wild Card position despite losing its last two.

The starting matchup is strong enough to carry the game on its own. Parker Messick has a 2.57 ERA and 1.04 WHIP across 178.1 innings for Cleveland. Payton Tolle answers with a 3.02 ERA, 3.04 FIP and 10.4 strikeouts per nine. Their profiles intersect in two notable places: both have walked 2.4 per nine and allowed 0.90 home runs per nine.

Neither club gives away much once the starter leaves. Boston’s bullpen leads MLB with a 3.09 ERA and 1.18 WHIP. Cleveland ranks sixth in relief ERA at 3.55, with its bullpen striking out 10.3 hitters per nine. Boston took two of the first three meetings this season, but Cleveland returns for this series opener having won seven of its last 10.

Written by PitcherStat ·

How the lineups match the starters' pitch mix

Pitch data coverage: partial. Usage and velocity only.

Messick arsenal
PitchUsageVelo
Four-seam42%94.4
Changeup24%85.9
Sinker15%92.8
Curveball8%79.3
Slider7%87.0
Cutter5%90.6
Tolle arsenal
PitchUsageVelo
Four-seam45%96.1
Sinker24%94.8
Cutter19%88.6
Curveball9%82.9
Changeup3%88.6

Team OPS vs opposing starter's hand

Guardians vs LHP (Payton Tolle)
27th
in MLB
0.675OPS
.600.700.800.9001.000
Sox vs LHP (Parker Messick)
7th
in MLB
0.735OPS
.600.700.800.9001.000

Lineup strength vs today's starter

Weighted by batting-order spot. Season rates are regressed toward league average before they enter the model.

Updated Sep 22, 3:45 PM ET
CLECLE
.723
+12 ptsOPS edge
BOSBOS
.711

Even matchup

Full lineup comparison

Lineups

Final lineupsOrder from the stored snapshot; treat as unofficial until the card is filed.Full lineup page
Cleveland GuardiansOfficial lineupvs LHP Payton Tolle
#HitterPosH-ScoreOPSHRvs LHPVs Tolle (BvP)
1Steven KwanLLF55.7313.609No MLB historyNo history
2José RamírezS3B61.68812.835No MLB historyNo history
3Chase DeLauterLRF82.82016.844No MLB historyNo history
4Jo AdellRRF66.69923.971No MLB historyNo history
5Angel MartínezSLF58.75518.745No MLB historyNo history
6David FryRRF44.6778.613No MLB historyNo history
7Travis BazzanaL2B64.74315.526No MLB historyNo history
8Austin HedgesRC46.7026.707No MLB historyNo history
9Brayan RocchioSSS56.70415.619No MLB historyNo history
1Steven Kwan LF · L.282 / .731 · 3 HRvs hand .609 · No MLB history · No history55H-Score2José Ramírez 3B · S.235 / .688 · 12 HRvs hand .835 · No MLB history · No history61H-Score3Chase DeLauter RF · L.287 / .820 · 16 HRvs hand .844 · No MLB history · No history82H-Score4Jo Adell RF · R.240 / .699 · 23 HRvs hand .971 · No MLB history · No history66H-Score5Angel Martínez LF · S.254 / .755 · 18 HRvs hand .745 · No MLB history · No history58H-Score6David Fry RF · R.201 / .677 · 8 HRvs hand .613 · No MLB history · No history44H-Score7Travis Bazzana 2B · L.245 / .743 · 15 HRvs hand .526 · No MLB history · No history64H-Score8Austin Hedges C · R.247 / .702 · 6 HRvs hand .707 · No MLB history · No history46H-Score9Brayan Rocchio SS · S.253 / .704 · 15 HRvs hand .619 · No MLB history · No history56H-Score
Boston Red SoxOfficial lineupvs LHP Parker Messick
#HitterPosH-ScoreOPSHRvs LHPVs Messick (BvP)
1Roman AnthonyLLF61.7355.5252-for-3Very small sample
2Nick SogardS2B53.7275.9200-for-2Very small sample
3Jahmai JonesRDH50.6676.7871-for-3Very small sample
4Wilyer AbreuLRF76.77324.8951-for-3Very small sample
5Adley RutschmanSC63.74113.640No MLB historyNo history
6Caleb DurbinR3B54.71013.6880-for-1Very small sample
7Andruw MonasterioRSS47.6666.8131-for-2Very small sample
8Isiah Kiner-FalefaR2B38.6332.4931-for-2Very small sample
9Nate EatonRLF—.5601.4712-for-2Very small sample
1Roman Anthony LF · L.245 / .735 · 5 HRvs hand .525 · 2-for-3 · Very small sample61H-Score2Nick Sogard 2B · S.255 / .727 · 5 HRvs hand .920 · 0-for-2 · Very small sample53H-Score3Jahmai Jones DH · R.206 / .667 · 6 HRvs hand .787 · 1-for-3 · Very small sample50H-Score4Wilyer Abreu RF · L.248 / .773 · 24 HRvs hand .895 · 1-for-3 · Very small sample76H-Score5Adley Rutschman C · S.242 / .741 · 13 HRvs hand .640 · No MLB history · No history63H-Score6Caleb Durbin 3B · R.248 / .710 · 13 HRvs hand .688 · 0-for-1 · Very small sample54H-Score7Andruw Monasterio SS · R.233 / .666 · 6 HRvs hand .813 · 1-for-2 · Very small sample47H-Score8Isiah Kiner-Falefa 2B · R.242 / .633 · 2 HRvs hand .493 · 1-for-2 · Very small sample38H-Score9Nate Eaton LF · R.160 / .560 · 1 HRvs hand .471 · 2-for-2 · Very small sample—H-Score

Team comparison

OffenseCLECLE·BOSBOS
AVG.239 23rd.245 15th
OPS.696 26th.717 18th
Home runs162 27th163 26th
Runs678 24th689 23rd
OBP.316 18th.319 11th
SLG.380 27th.398 19th
PitchingCLECLE·BOSBOS
1stMLB rank30th
ERA3.77vs3.54
CLEBOS
WHIP1.26vs1.23
CLEBOS
K/99.6vs8.7
CLEBOS
HR Allowed175vs153
CLEBOS
BullpenCLECLE·BOSBOS
1stMLB rank30th
Bullpen ERA3.46vs3.39
no league rank
Bullpen WHIP1.24vs1.22
no league rank
Saves46vs46
CLEBOS
ResultsCLECLE·BOSBOS
+28219th
Run differential
+32511th
85–77 Record87–75
7–3 Last 104–6
Last 10 games
Cleveland Guardians (7–3)
W
W
W
W
W
L
W
L
W
L
Boston Red Sox (4–6)
L
L
W
W
L
L
W
W
L
L
2026 head-to-head
Season Series
2—4
6 Games Played

Frequently asked

Who is starting for the Guardians?+
Parker Messick (2.57 ERA, 12–9) is listed as the starter.
Who is starting for the Sox?+
Payton Tolle (3.02 ERA, 9–6) is listed as the starter.
What time does the game start?+
6:45 PM ET at Fenway Park.
Where is the game being played?+
Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox.
Are the lineups confirmed?+
Not as official league cards. The orders shown are the current projected or last-posted lineups.
How have the Guardians and Sox performed head-to-head?+
Season series: Sox 4–2 this season.
How do the starters compare on P-Score?+
Parker Messick is at 75; Payton Tolle is at 72. P-Score is PitcherStat's 0–100 season index for qualified starters.