A premier American League matchup with playoff implications on the line will take place on this Friday as the Cleveland Guardians take on the Toronto Blue Jays. Join us for our MLB odds series where our Guardians-Blue Jays prediction and pick will be unveiled for all to see.

On paper, Cleveland's postseason aspirations are beginning to get out of reach for the Guardians as they will enter this contest with a 60-68 record and have lost six of their last eight games. To make matters worse, the Guardians now trail the Twins by a full six games for the AL Central lead and are a hopeless 11.5 games out of a Wild Card spot. With the hopes of revitalizing this team, Cleveland will send out righty Tanner Bibee who is 9-3 with a 3.01 ERA over the course of 20 total starts on the year.

Things couldn't be more different for the 2023 Toronto Blue Jays as Canada's team has gone on to compile a very productive 70-58 record and are right in the thick of a crowded postseason race. Unfortunately, the Blue Jays do happen to reside in an AL East division that remains the best in baseball with four teams with winning records inside it, but Toronto can find solace in that they only trail the Astros by 1.5 games for the final Wild Card spot. Tasked with keeping his team on pace with the rest of the AL squads will be Chris Bassitt who has quietly had a stellar season up to this point. In 26 starts, Bassitt is 12-6 with a 3.92 ERA.

Here are the Guardians-Blue Jays  MLB odds, courtesy of FanDuel. 

MLB Odds: Guardians-Blue Jays Odds

Cleveland Guardians: +1.5 (-162)

Toronto Blue Jays: -1.5 (+134)

Over: 8.5 (-105)

Under: 8.5 (-115)

How To Watch Guardians vs. Blue Jays

TV: Bally Sports Great Lakes

Stream: MLB.TV

Time: 7:07 ET/4:07 PT

*Watch MLB games LIVE with fuboTV (click for a free trial)*

Why The Guardians Could Cover The Spread

Although the season is far from last with a full month-plus remaining in the regular season and crazier things having happened in the wild world of baseball, Cleveland's margins for error are as slim as ever. Unlike the Blue Jays, the Guardians are fortunate to reside in a division that is among one of if not the worst in the sport. Even though the Minnesota Twins have slightly pulled away, they only have put together a 66-62 record to this point which has kept the Guardians in “striking distance”.

Without a doubt, Cleveland faces an uphill climb, but their mentality needs to be to take it one game at a time. Alas, the most important order of business that the Guardians need to figure out en route to winning and ultimately covering the spread will be figuring out how to get their best hitter going again at the plate. When taking a closer look, third-baseman Jose Ramirez does happen to lead the club with a .278 batting average and 19 homers next to his name, but he has gone 2-24 with the stick. Unquestionably, this Guardians offense lacks as it is, so Ramirez certainly needs to snap out of it before it is far too late.

Why The Blue Jays Could Cover The Spread

At nearly every position on this roster, you can find talent galore. Not only is this Toronto team one of the more skilled clubs in the franchise's recent memory, but they also are extremely youthful which should set them up for many seasons to come.

It is hard to argue against the fact that the Blue Jays are a better team than the Guardians up to this point, but even the more talented squads can go down in defeat in the game of baseball if a sloppy product is put out on the diamond.

For starters, it's always a tremendous thing to play in front of your home fans. After a six-game road trip that saw Toronto go an average 3-3 during that time, the Blue Jays will return home to the Rogers Centre where they are a combined 32-27 so far this year. Even more impressive, the Blue Jays are putting together one of their more dynamic season-long pitching performances in franchise history. In fact, Toronto possesses the lowest ERA (3.68) in all of Major League Baseball and also tied for the fourth-most quality starts in the league.

With the season coming down to its final stretch, the Blue Jays will need to continue to be aggressive from the pitching mound if they want to be one of the last teams standing come October.

Final Guardians-Blue Jays Prediction & Pick

The Guardians will surely give it all they got, but the Blue Jays' pitching prowess will be too much to overcome with Bassitt on the bump.

Final Guardians-Blue Jays Prediction & Pick: Blue Jays -1.5 (+134)