Sonny Gray and the Boston Red Sox host Cleveland Guardians in a potential MLB playoffs preview

The end of the MLB Season is almost here, with roughly five games remaining, including today, for most teams. There are still some exciting matchups today and this weekend. We went just 1-1 yesterday, with a loss on the Angels and a win in the Rays-Yankees game. I suppose I should know better than to back a 100-loss team. 

Tonight, I'm going for a game that we could potentially see in the playoffs as the Guardians take on the Red Sox.

Giving them a great chance today is the arm they acquired at the trade deadline, Foster Griffin. For the season, Griffin is 15-5 with a 3.67 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP. Griffin, overall, has been a nice addition to the team. He has two starts that were a little bit of a disaster, going four innings against the Mets and allowing five earned in his debut with the Guardians. 

The Red Sox are sending the one guy who was dominant at home all year, Sonny Gray. For the season, Sonny Gray is 17-5 with a 2.82 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP. He should be in the running for the Cy Young Award, even though he won't win over Cam Schlittler. He's been solid in September, going 19.1 innings and allowing a total of six earned runs. He faced the Guardians earlier this season and allowed just one earned run over six innings in a 9-1 win for the Red Sox.

It wasn't just that one game against the Guardians that Gray has excelled in. He has been great against them for years, holding hitters to a .208 batting average over 130 at-bats. Although the Red Sox don't really "need" this game to solidify their Wild Card spot, they still should look to win. Gray has been dominant for them, and they've been very successful in his outings this year. I'm backing the Red Sox here and I also think they probably cover the -1.5 run line. I also would be surprised to see this game go under 6.5 runs. I'll play all three bets.