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It is an interleague matchup as the Cleveland Guardians visit the San Diego Padres. It is time to continue our MLB odds series with a Guardians-Padres prediction, pick, and how-to watch.
Over the weekend the Guardians won two of three over the Astros. They finished off the series with a shutout victory over the second-best team in th American league. They have now won six of their last ten games, and sit at 31-34 for the season. That places them just 1.5 games out of first place on the year, in second behind the division-leading Twins.
Meanwhile, the Padres lost their last game to the Rockies. It was ten inning affair with a rain delay intermingled. They have also won six of their last ten games. Like the Guardians they sit at 31-34 on the season, but for them, it places the Padres fourth in the division and 9.5 games out of first place.
Here are the Guardians-Padres MLB odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
MLB Odds: Guardians-Padres Odds
Cleveland Guardians: +1.5 (-160)
San Diego Padres: -1.5 (+130)
Over: 7.5 (-115)
Under: 7.5 (-105)
How To Watch Guardians vs. Padres
TV: BSGL/SDPA
Stream: MLB.TV
Time: 9:40 PM ET/ 3:40 PM PT
*Watch MLB games LIVE with fuboTV (click for a free trial)*
Why The Guardians Could Cover The Spread
The Guardian's offense has not been great this year. They are 20th in batting average on the season, while sitting 24th in on-base percentage with a 28th-ranked slugging percentage. This has resulted in them being ranked 27th in runs scored on the year. What has one the games this year is a top-quality pitching staff. While sitting 16th in opponent batting average, they are 10th in WHIP and 5th in team ERA.
Scheduled to keep the great pitching going today is Tanner Bibee, who is 2-2 this year with a 3.05 ERA. He has made eight starts this year and has been fairly good overall. He had one bad start in May in which he gave up four runs in 3.2 innings of work. Outside of that, he has one start in which he gave up three runs. Beyond those two, in the other six starts, he has gone five or more innings giving up two or fewer runs in each of them.
To support Bibee, Jose Ramirez will hope to keep his hitting going. He is hitting .282 on the month with nine RBIs and four home runs. Three of those home runs came in one game against the Red Sox, but he hit one against Houston just a night later and will be looking to keep the power going. Meanwhile, Josh Naylor will be hoping to find some power. He is second on the team in home runs with eight on the year. He has yet to hit one out this month but is still hitting well. On the month he is hitting .429. Naylor has also driven in eight runs in that time with four doubles.
Why The Padres Could Cover The Spread
The Padres' offense has been disappointing this year. They are tied for 22nd in runs scored while sitting in the bottom half of the league in on-base percentage, batting average, and slugging. What has kept them afloat has been pitching. They are seventh in team ERA while sitting sixth in WHIP and fourth in opponent batting average. Josh Hader has been amazing out of the pen. Hader has 15 saves on the year with a 1.42 ERA and a .91 WHIP. Hader has only allowed four earned runs all year long while striking out 34 batters.
While the offense has not been at its best, Fernando Tatis Jr. is starting to pick up steam. He has driven in 13 runs this month with three home runs. Meanwhile, he has been hitting .390 on the month with a .457 on-base percentage. Also starting to pick up is Juan Soto. After hitting .333 in May, Soto went cold a little bit. He only had one hit in his first five games in June. Since that cold spell, he has hit .260 with five RBIs. Still, he is looking for the power to return to his bat. He has not hit a home run since May 26th,
Joe Musgrove will be on the mound for the Padres today. He is 3-2 this year with a 4.35 ERA. Musgrove has been solid in his last three staets. In each one, he has gone five or more innings and given up just one run. In June he has made two starts already, pitching 11 innings with just a .82 ERA.
Final Guardians-Padres Prediction & Pick
Today, it is two teams with identical records and similar statistics. By all rights, the Padres should be the better team. They have the better talents, and over career numbers, should be a much better team. They have no played like it though. Today, the Padres do send the better pitcher to the mound, but overall, the Cleveland offense is better. The Padres should easily win this game, but nothing has come easy to them this year. Disappointment continues in this one. The Guardians not only cover, but they get a win.
Final Guardians-Padres Prediction & Pick: Guardians +1.5 (-160)
