First of three games between Cleveland Guardians - Boston Red Sox postponed due to weather

The Cleveland Guardians and Boston Red Sox were set to begin their three-game series at Progressive Field on Friday, with the game being nationally broadcast on Apple TV+. That is no longer the case.

The Guardians announced that Friday's game was postponed due to weather on social media. This game will be made up as part of a doubleheader on Saturday, with the game originally scheduled for Friday being played at 1:10 while Saturday night's start time remains unchanged (6:10).

This is the first time the Guardians will play the Red Sox this season and the only time they will face each other before the All-Star Break. Cleveland is set to make a trip up to Boston in early September to conclude their six-game in-season series. The Guardians won five of their seven matchups with the Red Sox season, winning two of three at home and three of four at Fenway. Unlike this season, all seven of those contests took place between April 15th and April 25th.

Getting an extra day off is not necessarily the worst thing for the Guardians right now. While they have six of their last 10 games, Cleveland's bullpen is already experiencing plenty of use due to the starting rotation experiencing difficulty getting deep into games on a consistent basis.

The most notable relief arm receiving plenty of attention for his performance this season has been Emmanuel Clase. It has been somewhat of a rough start for Clase, and while overuse has not been his specific problem, getting an extra day off should help in the long run. Some have opted to take a different route in regard to Clase and go into full-blown panic mode, but it is far too early for this to be seriously considered by anyone rational.

If Cleveland can have a successful series against the Red Sox, it should help them maintain pace in the American League as a whole, but more importantly, the AL Central division. The Guardians are 14-10 entering play on Friday and trail the 15-10 Detroit Tigers by half of a game. Playing at a similar or better level than the Tigers will be crucial for Cleveland in the early going, and it must continue if they are to avoid falling too far back in the division, but that is a conversation best left for a later date.