Boston @ Cleveland preview

Last Meeting ( Oct 2, 2015 ) Boston 2, Cleveland 8

The last time the Boston Red Sox attempted a “bullpen game” it went so well they decided to make it a regular part of the rotation closing the season. The Red Sox bullpen will get a shot at its second straight shutout when Boston visits the Cleveland Indians in the second of a three-game, season-ending series.

The Indians snuffed out the Red Sox’s last hope to finish with a .500 record when they claimed an 8-2 victory in Friday’s opener, keeping their own chances at a winning mark intact. Cleveland (79-80) needs to sweep the series to finish with a winning record, and some consistent offense would make that a possibility. The Indians are 5-6 in their last 11 games and have scored at least six runs in each of the wins while managing two or fewer in each of the losses. The Boston relief corps, led by Craig Breslow, will try to shut down that offense and pull the Red Sox out of a brief two-game slide.

TV: 7:10 p.m. ET, NESN (Boston), STO (Cleveland)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Red Sox LH Craig Breslow (0-3, 4.22 ERA) vs. Indians RH Corey Kluber (8-16, 3.62)

Breslow made his first start after 522 career relief appearances and allowed two hits in four scoreless innings in a win over Baltimore last Saturday. Heath Hembree followed and ended up with the win in that game while Boston totaled seven pitchers who surrendered a total of five hits in a shutout. Breslow threw 55 pitches in his four innings and is not expected to go much longer than that against the Indians.

Kluber battled a hamstring injury through much of September and is 0-4 over his last six starts. That run of tough outings began at Boston on Aug. 19 when the reigning American League Cy Young Award winner was lit up for six runs on six hits – four home runs – in six innings. Kluber yielded at least one homer in each of his last four turns and was reached for four runs and seven hits in six innings to suffer a loss against Minnesota on Monday.

WALK-OFFS

1. Red Sox SS Xander Bogaerts went 1-for-3 on Friday and needs five hits over the final two games to reach 200.

2. Cleveland 1B Carlos Santana is 4-for-11 over the last three games – matching his hit total from the previous 10 contests.

3. Boston OF Jackie Bradley Jr. is 9-for-73 (.123) with 26 strikeouts over his last 23 games.

PREDICTION: Indians 7, Red Sox 5