Guardians The Pick In Weekend Series vs Athletics
Cleveland Hosts Oakland For Three-Game Set
The Cleveland Guardians try to stay atop the AL Central standings when they begin a three-game series with the Oakland Athletics on Friday night. The Athletics vs Guardians odds are leaning towards the host Guardians, but the Athletics have been playing better than expected this season.
Cleveland (13-6) is tied with the New York Yankees for the top record in the American League and has won four of its last five. The Guardians are trying to keep ahead of the Kansas City Royals, who are just one game behind in the division heading into this weekend’s action.
Oakland (8-11) is in fourth place in the AL West but just 2.5 games behind the first-place Texas Rangers. The Athletics are 4-2 on the road this season and will try to improve that record in this series.
The Guardians are favored in the opening matchup, as they likely will be all weekend long. You can take Cleveland at -170 on the moneyline while getting Oakland at +150. The run line has the Athletics at -140 when getting 1.5 runs, and the Guardians are +120 giving the 1.5 runs. The over/under has been set at 8.5 runs, with -110 odds on each side of that wager.
The schedule for major league baseball has the series opener set for 7:10 p.m. ET on Friday. Saturday’s game is scheduled for a 6:10 p.m. ET first pitch, while the series finale is set for 1:40 p.m. ET on Sunday.
Cleveland Guardians vs Oakland Athletics 
Day/Time:
Location: Progressive Field, Cleveland, OH
Pitching Matchups
Game 1: Joe Boyle (Oakland) vs Triston McKenzie (Cleveland)
Right-hander Joe Boyle will take the mound for the Athletics for the opener, bringing a 1-2 record and 5.68 ERA to the mound. The 24-year-old has made three starts this season and has been much better in his last two outings, allowing a total of one run and seven hits in 10 total innings.
He opened the season with an ugly 2.2-inning stint against the Boston Red Sox, giving up eight runs (seven earned) on eight hits.
Cleveland’s Triston McKenzie has been up and down this season in his three starts. The righty is 1-2 with a 6.23 ERA and has two starts in which he’s given up at least five runs. His third start lasted 5.2 innings as he shut out the Chicago White Sox on three hits.
Game 2: Alex Wood (Oakland) vs Logan Allen (Cleveland)
Veteran lefty Alex Wood is set to take the mound for Saturday’s contest trying to get back to being one of the better major league baseball pitchers today. The 33-year-old is in his first season with the Athletics and has started 0-1 with an 8.10 ERA, allowing at least two runs in each of his four starts. Wood was the starter for the season opener, facing the Guardians, and allowed six runs on seven hits in lasting just 3.1 innings.
The Cleveland Guardians will counter with left-hander Logan Allen, who comes in with a 2-0 record and 5.06 ERA. Allen has struggled a bit in his last two starts, allowing nine runs over 9.2 innings. The 25-year-old went five innings against Oakland in his first start of the season, allowing three runs on six hits.
Game 3: Ross Stripling (Oakland) vs Tanner Bibee (Cleveland)
Another veteran, right-hander Ross Stripling, will close out the series for the Athletics. Stripling is 0-4 with a 5.32 ERA in four starts, and he’s also struggled against the Guardians already this season. Stripling went five innings in the season-opening series between these teams, allowing five runs (four earned) on seven hits.
Cleveland’s young pitching has been a big reason the team is near the top of the MLB power rankings, and another young hurler will close out this series for the team. Righty Tanner Bibee is 1-0 with a 4.82 ERA in four starts this season, holding three of his first four opponents to three runs or fewer. Bibee allowed three runs on six hits over four innings when he faced Oakland in the first series between these clubs.
Offense The Difference In Series
Oakland has struggled on the mound at times, and that’s what has doomed the team to a losing record so far. The Athletics are 29th in baseball in scoring with just 56 runs while ranking 28th in batting average at .209. Meanwhile, Cleveland is eighth in the majors in batting average at .251 and seventh in scoring with 102 runs.
Outfielder Steven Kwan leads the Guardians hitters with a .354 batting average, which ranks eighth in the majors. Kwan had an eight-game hitting streak ended in Wednesday’s loss to the Boston Red Sox, only the third time in 18 games that he’s been hitless. In the opening four-game series against Oakland, Kwan was 7-for-20 with a double, a home run, two RBI and six runs scored.
Catcher Shea Langeliers hasn’t been consistent at the plate – hitting just .192 – but he’s shown power when he does connect. Langeliers leads the Athletics with four home runs and nine RBI, though he’s just 2-for-16 over his last five games.
Guardians Cruise To Easy Series Win
The Athletics vs Guardians odds favor the home team for good reason, as Cleveland has been one of the better teams in baseball all season long. It started with winning three of four against the Athletics in Oakland in March, and it should continue with more wins this weekend.
When you’re doing your MLB betting on this series, make sure Cleveland is your pick in each game. The over is certainly something to look at in each game as well, with each of the four games these two played to start the season finishing with seven or more runs.
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