Guardians shut out Red Sox 1-0, hold Boston to two hits and clinch postseason berth

Boston's series against Cleveland ended with a shutout Thursday night. Angel Martínez hit a solo home run in the second inning, and five Cleveland pitchers held the Red Sox to two hits in a 1-0 Guardians win. Cleveland took the three-game series two games to one and clinched a postseason berth; Boston fell to 85-74.

The only run came with one out in the second. Martínez sent a Ranger Suárez changeup down the right-field line and inside Pesky's Pole for his 18th homer, a 319-foot drive according to MLB's video and tracking record. The Red Sox did not score despite having the rest of the night to answer. MLB's official game feed records Boston's two hits as Nick Sogard's third-inning single and Jarren Duran's seventh-inning single.

Suárez kept the deficit at one. He worked five innings, allowed three hits and one run, walked one and struck out five. Daniel Espino opened for Cleveland, then Joey Cantillo gave the Guardians five scoreless innings with one hit allowed, two walks and four strikeouts. Erik Sabrowski, Hunter Gaddis and Cade Smith completed the shutout. Smith struck out all three batters he faced in the ninth for the save. MLB's official game page credits Cantillo with the win and Suárez with the loss.

Boston had a chance to build a seventh-inning threat after Caleb Durbin walked to lead off. Ceddanne Rafaela then grounded into a double play before Duran singled. The inning ended without a run. The Red Sox drew four walks overall, but their two hits left little room to overcome Martínez's swing. That is the immediate concern heading into the final weekend: Boston's pitching allowed only one run Thursday, yet the lineup could not turn its limited opportunities into a tie.

The result also mattered beyond Fenway. Cleveland's victory moved it to 83-76, with the Guardians' postseason place marked as clinched in MLB's official standings. Boston remained in the second American League Wild Card position at 85-74. Those are standings at the close of Thursday's games, not final seeding; the remaining results can still change matchups.

Boston now turns to a Cubs series whose schedule has already been altered by the weather forecast. MLB's schedule lists two Friday games at Fenway, at 1:05 and 6:05 p.m. Eastern, with Saturday's game still on the calendar. Thursday's result gives the Red Sox a clear task for those last games: restore some offense while preserving the pitching that kept Cleveland within one swing.