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The Washington Nationals take on the Cleveland Guardians. Our MLB odds series has our Nationals Guardians prediction and pick. Find out how to watch Nationals Guardians.
The Cleveland Guardians are not the favorite to win the 2024 World Series, but in many ways, they are the biggest story of the season. In terms of generating the biggest national headlines or buzz, the Guardians will never compete with the New York Yankees — who are 41-19 and are getting great performances from Juan Soto and Aaron Judge — or with the 41-18 Philadelphia Phillies, who are smoking the Atlanta Braves in the National League East. New York and Philadelphia will get more national media coverage no matter what. However, purely in terms of the extent to which any MLB team is surpassing expectations in 2024, Cleveland is clearly No. 1, followed closely by the Kansas City Royals, the team right on Cleveland's heels in the American League Central. Cleveland is 39-19 through 58 games. The Guardians are on pace to win over 100 games. Would you find anyone who predicted that before the season began? The especially striking and remarkable aspect of this meteoric rise in Cleveland is that it has happened under a first-year manager. Stephen Vogt took over for future Baseball Hall of Fame inductee Terry Francona and has watched Cleveland max out under his guidance. The Guardians are getting solid pitching throughout their rotation and are getting clutch hits from their best players. That's the simplest and most direct formula for baseball success. The Guardians hope it won't end anytime soon.
Here are the Nationals-Guardians MLB odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
MLB Odds: Nationals-Guardians Odds
Washington Nationals: +1.5 (-170)
Cleveland Guardians: -1.5 (+140)
Over: 8.5 (+100)
Under: 8.5 (-122)
How To Watch Nationals vs. Guardians
TV: MASN (Nationals) / Bally Sports Great Lakes (Guardians) / MLB Extra Innings
Stream: ESPN Plus
Time: 1:40 p.m. ET/10:40 a.m. PT
*Watch Nationals-Guardians LIVE on fuboTV (click for a free trial)*
Why The Nationals Could Cover The Spread
The Nationals are not a good team, and they're nowhere near as good as the Guardians in general. However, after losing the first two games of this weekend series in Ohio, the Nationals have a good chance to win Sunday. Even for good teams against bad teams, it's hard to sweep series. The Los Angeles Dodgers did not sweep the Colorado Rockies this weekend at home. The defending World Series champion Texas Rangers did not sweep the lowly Miami Marlins this weekend in South Florida. It happens. Bad teams will beat good teams, and this is a really good spot for the Nationals to do so, having lost the past two games in Cleveland.
Why The Guardians Could Cover The Spread
The Guardians are a far better team than the Nationals. They are playing great baseball, being 20 games over .500 on the first weekend of June. They just did handle the Nats in each of the first two games of this series. Why would you not pick them here? Cleveland just keeps cranking out wins, and the Nationals are several games under .500, not the kind of team you would ever want to trust with your money against a vastly superior Cleveland squad. It just doesn't add up if you want to bet on the Nats.
Final Nationals-Guardians Prediction & Pick
You could lean to the Guardians here, but this is a “sweep avoidance” game for the Nats, so the personal recommendation here is to pass on this one.
Final Nationals-Guardians Prediction & Pick: Guardians -1.5
