Red Sox at Guardians lineups: Keep that energy

The Red Sox head to Cleveland to face the surprising Guardians tonight behind Nick Pivetta (7:10 p.m., NESN).

The Sox have won four in a row and haven’t lost a series in June, but this series raises the stakes considerably. For the most part, our boys have faced pushovers over the last month, and the exception—the Cardinals—aren’t directly competing with Boston for a playoff spot like Cleveland is. The Guardians and Twins are effectively tied atop the AL Central, while the Sox are a half game behind the Blue Jays for second in the AL East. Things are tight.

Pivetta is probably the guy we want on the mound, given his spectacular season so far. Cal Quantrill, son of Red Sox veteran Paul, takes the mound for Cleveland. He’s not a strikeout threat, so despite his solid ERA (3.77) he could be good eatin’ for the Sox tonight.

Cleveland’s lineup is buoyed, as always, by José Ramírez, who’s been one of the best players in baseball for a half-decade now and shows no sign of slowing down. The Sox have a lineup not featuring Xander Bogaerts, who finally gets his day off now that non-threatening Christian Arroyo is back from the IL. Franchy Cordero is at first base, which means we have a Franchy vs. Franmil (Reyes) battle tonight. Let’s rock.