AP Sports Preview: Red Sox at Guardians

CLEVELAND (Interstat) — The Boston Red Sox visit the Cleveland Guardians on Sunday for the finale of a three-game series at Progressive Field, with first pitch scheduled for 1:40 p.m. under cloudy skies and a temperature of 65 degrees.

Boston (24-33) will start left-hander Tanner Bibee, who is 0-7 with an ERA above 6.00 this season. Bibee has struggled mightily, allowing at least four earned runs in four of his past six outings. The Red Sox are coming off a 9-1 rout of Cleveland on Saturday, snapping a two-game skid and splitting the series so far.

Cleveland (34-26) holds a 5 1/2-game lead in the AL Central and counters with its own starter to be announced. The Guardians have been strong at home, winning four of their past six at Progressive Field.

Players to watch - Red Sox: Right-hander Sonny Gray, though not scheduled to start, has been electric recently. In his past five appearances, all but one have been quality starts. He threw six innings of one-run ball in Saturday’s win over Cleveland, striking out seven. - Guardians: Left-hander Parker Messick, who started Saturday and took the loss despite allowing only one earned run over five innings. He has been effective overall, posting a 2.67 ERA over his past five starts with 29 strikeouts in 27 1/3 innings.

Recent form Boston has alternated wins and losses over its past five games, dropping three of its last four series. The Red Sox offense exploded for nine runs Saturday behind Connor Wong (two hits, three RBIs) and Jarren Duran (home run, three RBIs). Cleveland had won back-to-back games before Saturday’s loss.

The line Boston is favored by 1.5 runs, and the over/under is set at 7.5 total runs. Interstat’s game simulator projects a 7-3 Cleveland victory.

Up next Boston returns home to host Baltimore on Tuesday, while Cleveland travels to New York for a three-game set at Yankee Stadium.