Orioles vs Guardians Best Bets: Division Leaders Meet
Baltimore Clinging to Narrow Division Lead
Two of the top teams in the American League open a four-game series when the Baltimore Orioles visit the Cleveland Guardians beginning Thursday.
The Orioles are clinging to a half-game lead over the Yankees. Cleveland is 6.0 games ahead of the Minnesota Twins. Both teams made some moves to acquire pitching at the trade deadline. One of Baltimore’s additions, Trevor Rogers, should get the start for the Orioles on Thursday.
Ben Lively is going to take the mound for the Guardians. The Orioles vs Guardians best bets like the under 9.5 on Thursday, as Cleveland is -110 in the game. The run line price on the Guardians is +140, while those taking Baltimore +1.5 runs are being asked to lay -170.
The Orioles are leading their division thanks to an offense that is scoring 5.2 runs per game. Baltimore leads all of MLB in home runs and slugging percentage. The Orioles aren’t bad at hitting for average, but it’s the long ball that drives the offense.
The pitching staff has been good and is No. 8 in team ERA. The Orioles have converted 33 saves in 49 opportunities and the bullpen ERA is No. 13 in baseball.
The Guardians offense isn’t bad, but pitching is the team strength. Cleveland is scoring 4.6 runs per game, which is a little better than the league average of 4.4 runs. The Guardians have a little bit of power and are tied for No. 14 in home runs.
It’s Cleveland’s pitching staff that has them leading the AL Central. The Guardians are No. 4 in team ERA and have 38 saves in 50 opportunities. The Cleveland relief pitchers rank No. 1 in MLB in bullpen ERA. The Guardians will go as far in the MLB playoff brackets as the pitching staff takes them.
Baltimore Orioles vs Cleveland Guardians 
Day/Time:
Location: Progressive Field
Streaming: ESPN
Thursday’s Game
The Orioles haven’t officially named Rogers as their starter for the game, but he makes the most sense. He hasn’t pitched since July 26, so it’s time for his normal spot in the rotation to come up. Baltimore has named its starters for the next couple of games and Rogers wasn’t one of them. Expect him to go here.
Lively is having a pretty decent year for the Guardians. He’s been especially tough at home, where Cleveland is 6-1 when he starts. He isn’t a big name pitcher, but you can’t argue with his success so far this season.
The Guardians have fared well against LHP this season, going 24-8. Rogers struggled early in the season, but his last 10 starts have been pretty solid and the MLB expert picks will be on the under 9.5 in this game.
Friday’s Game
Dean Kremer and Carlos Carrasco are the scheduled starters on Friday. Carrasco has been pretty bad this season, going 3-9 with a 5.68 ERA. The Guardians are 7-12 when he starts and 7-11-1 in totals. He’s been a little better at home, where Cleveland is 4-4 when he starts.
Kremer isn’t having the best of seasons, himself. He’s 4-7 with a 4.20 ERA and the Orioles are 6-8 when he starts and 10-4 in totals. Baltimore is 3-4 when he starts on the road.
Cleveland will likely be slight favorites here, but it’s tough to bet on Carrasco with the types of numbers he has. The total will be high, but it looks as though the over might be the way to go. It’s definitely not one of the Orioles vs Guardians best bets, as both pitchers are too unpredictable for that.
Saturday’s Game
Zach Eflin and Tanner Bibee are the scheduled starters for Saturday night’s game. Eflin came over from Tampa Bay and is making his second start for the Orioles. He was fair in his Baltimore debut and the Orioles did manage to win against Toronto.
Bibee has been solid all season long for the Guardians and Cleveland is an impressive 17-5 when he takes the mound. Cleveland has won six of his last eight starts and he’s almost become an automatic choice for your best MLB bets today whenever he takes the mound.
The price is going to be fairly high on the Guardians, but Cleveland is really the only way you can go here. Taking the Guardians on the run line is a bit tougher, as they’re just 12-10 when Bibee is starting.
Sunday’s Game
Corbin Burnes is going to get the start in the series finale for the Orioles, while the Guardians haven’t named a starter yet. Joey Cantillo is being listed by ESPN and he is a candidate, although he has just one appearance for Cleveland this season. He allowed three runs in just 3 1/3 innings against the Phillies. Two of the four hits he allowed were home runs.
Burnes is having another solid season, going 11-4 with a 2.47 ERA. The Orioles are 15-7 when he starts and 7-3 when he takes the mound on the road. Burnes is going to be better than anybody the Guardians send to the mound and the price shouldn’t be as high as it is in most of his starts.
The Orioles vs Guardians best bets will be backing Burnes in this game. He’s simply too good not to take in this spot.
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