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The Cleveland Guardians look to complete the sweep today of the Pittsburgh Pirates. It is time to continue our MLB odds series with a Guardians-Pirates prediction, pick, and how to watch.
Both teams opened up the second half by being swept over the weekend. The Guardians' offense struggled against Texas, scoring just nine runs in three games in the sweep. They have now scored 21 runs in their last two games. In game one, it was home runs by Andres Gimenez and Josh Naylor that netted them 11 runs. Last night, it was more of the same. The Guardians scored five times in the first innings. Steven Kwan doubled to open the game, and Amed Rosario drove him home. After Jose Ramirez hit a single, Josh Naylor hit a three-run bomb to make it 4-0. Then Miles Straw would single to drive in the fifth run of the inning. In the third, it was a Josh Bell two-run home run that extended the lead. Josh Naylor would add another RBI in the fourth on a bases-loaded fielders choice.
The Pirates got one back in the bottom of the sixth on a Conner Joe solo home run, but Josh Naylor was not done for the night. In the top of the ninth, Naylor hit a two-run home run to make it 10-1. Naylor now has driven in nine runs in the two games of this series, while the Pirates have scored one run as a whole team. Logan Allen was strong for the Guardians, as he went five innings with just one hit and eight strikeouts. Meanwhile, Mitch Keller was tagged for eight runs in six innings of work.
With the win, the Guardians are now 47-48 on the season and are 1.5 games back of the Twins for first place in the AL Central. The loss took the Pirates to 41-54 on the season and they are now in last place in NL Central, a division they were leading on June 15th.
Here are the Guardians-Pirates MLB odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
MLB Odds: Guardians-Pirates Odds
Cleveland Guardians: -1.5 (+115)
Pittsburgh Pirates: +1.5 (-138)
Over: 9 (-115)
Under: 9 (-105)
How To Watch Guardians vs. Pirates
TV: BSGL/ATTP
Stream: MLB.TV/ESPN+
Time: 12:35 PM ET/ 9:35 AM PT
*Watch MLB games LIVE with fuboTV (click for a free trial)*
Why The Guardians Could Cover The Spread
The Guardians' offense is exploding right now as they have scored 21 runs in just two games. For perspective, they had scored just 23 runs in the previous six games, and the most they had scored in two games before this was 20. The second game of the two saw the Guardians score four in extra innings though. The most they had scored in back-to-back games without extra innings was 18. Still, Cleveland is tied for 25th in the majors in runs scored this year. Meanwhile, are 15th in batting average, 20th in on-base percentage, and 25th in slugging.
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It was Josh Naylor again last night leading the way. He leads the team in batting average at .311 on the season, while leading the team in RBIs with 75. In this series, he is 4-10 with three home runs, a double, and nine RBIs. He has been on fire this month, hitting .396 on the month with a .431 OBP. He also has five home runs and 17 RBIs to go with his ten runs scored.
Steven Kwan also kept up his hot month last night adding two doubles and two runs score. This month he is hitting .333 with six RBIs and a home run. Kwan has scored four times in this series already and has scored ten times this month with the help of six doubles. He also has hits in every game so far since the All-Star break. Amed Rosario is also hot in this series. It was another RBI for him last night as he has gone 3-8 with three runs scored and three RBIs in the series. One the month he now has scored 11 times and driven in 15 runs while hitting .286.
With the offensive explosion in the last two games, 12 of the 13 Guardians to take an at-bat since the All-Star break have scored a run. The exception is Cam Gallagher who has played in just one game and had two at-bats.
Aaron Civale will be on the mound for the Guardians in this one. He is 3-2 on the year with a 2.65 ERA. Civale has also been great so far in the month. In three starts he has pitched 18 innings and given up just three runs. One was against Chicago in his first start where he got a no-decision. After taking the win by pitching seven innings with just two hits and no runs, he gave up two runs in five innings to the Rangers. He was in line for the win when he left the game, but the Rangers scored nine runs in the seventh and eighth innings combined to win that game, giving Civale the no decision.
Why The Pirates Could Cover The Spread
For the second night in a row, the Pirates struggled on offense. They have scored just ten runs in five games since the All-Star break. In this series, they have just nine hits in 62 at-bats with three walks. That is a .145 batting average with a .194 on-base percentage. On the year, they are 27th in the majors in runs scored. They are also 22nd in batting average, 23rd in on-base percentage, and 256h in slugging percentage. Last night it was Conner Joe who drove in the only run. It was his first RBI of the month and his first runs scored. He is hitting well at .313 with a .421 on-base percentage, but he has regularly been stranded on base.
Henry Davis also grabbed another hit last night. Since the All-Star break he is 7-17 with three runs scored a home run and two RBIs. He has also walked three times and only struck out once. Andrew McCutchen grabbed another hit as well, his third in three games. He has been struggling this month. He is hitting just .100 this month with two walks and a double.
Struggles are a common theme for this lineup. Since the All-Star break, Jack Suwinski does not have a hit. Nick Gonzales is hitting .111, Bryan Reynolds .158, and Carlos Santana just .214.
Rich Hill will be on the mount today and he is 7-9 on the year with a 4.76 ERA. His WHIP is also not good, sitting at 1.44 on the year. Hill is not pitching well. In July he has a 6.60 ERA with eight walks. He has not allowed less than three runs in his last six starts. Hill will be facing a lineup that is getting hot. Expect more of the same from him.
Final Guardians-Pirates Prediction & Pick
The Guardian's offense is hot. The Pirates are awful. The Pirate's collapse this season has been terrible, and they continue to play badly on a nightly basis. They have to find a way to score runs, and quickly. Will Rich Hill be on the mound, they need to score at least four runs to win. They have done that twice in the last six games, both resulting in losses. The Guardians will continue their hot offense today and they are the pick over the Pirates in this one.
Final Guardians-Pirates Prediction & Pick: Guardians -1.5 (+142)
