Sonny Gray (5-1, 3.27) takes the ball for Boston against Parker Messick (6-1, 2.24) at 3:10 PM CT in a Saturday matinee at Progressive Field. Gray is coming off his shortest outing in weeks — 4 innings, 3 earned, 75 pitches against the Twins — while Messick threw 5.2 shutout frames at the Phillies in his last turn.
The bigger picture for the Red Sox is grim. They're 23-33, sitting near the top of every "biggest disappointment" list in baseball, and Chad Tracy's interim run is 13-14 with the offense going cold at the worst possible time. Craig Breslow has already publicly floated the idea of selling at the deadline, which tells you exactly where the vibes are.
Cleveland, meanwhile, is 34-25 and quietly running the AL Central. They've taken 3 of their last 5 and just grinded out a 1-run win over Boston on Friday night. The lineup is short-handed too — Steven Kwan is on the bereavement list — but Messick has been the kind of rookie who lets a banged-up offense get away with scoring 3.
The Boston injury sheet is the real story here. Trevor Story is out 6-10 weeks after sports hernia surgery, Garrett Crochet is still building back from a shoulder issue, Roman Anthony got shut down from swinging with a finger problem, and Garrett Whitlock tweaked his knee on a wet mound. Triston Casas, Tanner Houck, Kutter Crawford, Patrick Sandoval, Johan Oviedo — the 60-day list reads like a depth chart.
- Day-To-DayNick Sogard 3B — Sogard went 1-for-4 with a triple and a run scored in Sunday's 6-5 loss to Minnesota.
- Day-To-DayHobie Harris RP — Harris was optioned to Triple-A Rochester on Saturday, Jesse Dougherty of The Washington Post reports.
- 10-Day-ILRoman Anthony LF — Anthony (finger) felt discomfort while hitting off a tee Thursday and has been shut down from swinging, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com reports.
- 10-Day-ILTrevor Story SS — Story underwent surgery to repair a sports hernia Thursday and will be sidelined 6-10 weeks, Tim Healey of The Boston Globe reports.
- 15-Day-ILGarrett Whitlock RP — Whitlock has been unavailable to pitch since tweaking his left knee on a wet mound in his last appearance Sunday against the Twins, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic reports.
- 15-Day-ILGarrett Crochet SP — Crochet (shoulder) said that he's scheduled to throw a second live batting practice session Sunday, Mac Cerullo of the Boston Herald reports.
- 60-Day-ILTriston Casas 1B — Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy told reporters Wednesday that Casas (abdomen/knee) is close to being cleared to swing a bat, Christopher Smith of MassLive.com reports.
- 60-Day-ILPatrick Sandoval SP — Sandoval (biceps/elbow) threw a 30-pitch bullpen session Wednesday, Christopher Smith of MassLive.com reports.
- Day-To-DayCarlos Hernandez RP — Hernandez (shoulder) began his rehab assignment with Triple-A Omaha on Friday.
- bereavementSteven Kwan CF — Kwan went 3-for-4 with an RBI in Sunday's 3-1 win over Philadelphia.
- 15-Day-ILErik Sabrowski RP — Sabrowski (elbow) underwent an MRI on Tuesday which confirmed inflammation but no structural damage, MLB.com reports.
- 60-Day-ILGabriel Arias SS — no
Pinnacle has the Guardians at -128 with a total of 6.5, and the public money is piling on Cleveland's side of both the moneyline and the spread. Hard to argue. Gray is the better name, but Messick's been the better pitcher in 2026, and Boston's lineup right now is not the group you want chasing a rookie lefty who's only allowed more than 2 earned once in his last 5 starts.