The Cleveland Guardians take on the Seattle Mariners. Our MLB odds series has our Guardians Mariners prediction and pick. Find out how to watch Guardians Mariners.

The Cleveland Guardians had a very good first series in their 2024 MLB season. The Guardians went to Oakland and took three of four from the A's. They didn't get the four-game sweep, but they did what they were supposed to do. Any team which plays the A's should win the series. Splitting a four-gamer would be a disappointment. The Guardians avoided that and got off on the right foot. It obviously remains to be seen how Cleveland will perform against teams better than Oakland, which is what makes this Seattle series both interesting and important. Nevertheless, the Guardians have to be happy with their first four games and hope that will set the right tone for first-year manager Stephen Vogt, who is taking over from legend and future Baseball Hall of Fame inductee Terry Francona.

The Seattle Mariners split their four-game home series against the Boston Red Sox. What we saw from the Mariners in their first series of the season was not terribly surprising. The Mariners traded Eugenio Suarez to the Arizona Diamondbacks and have therefore lost — not gained — pop in their batting order. It seems likely that the M's will struggle to score this season, and that's generally what happened versus Boston. Seattle posted a grand total of 10 runs in the four games, an average of 2.5 runs per game. The Mariners did not score more than four runs in any of the four games. Yet, because Seattle has such good pitching depth, the Mariners were able to split the series. They scored a 1-0 win and a 4-3 win in the series, a testament to both their starters and their bullpen. In order to make the playoffs, though, they will need to get more offense as the season moves along.

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

MLB Odds: Guardians-Mariners Odds

Cleveland Guardians: -1.5 (+150)

Seattle Mariners: +1.5 (-182)

Over: 7.5 (-122)

Under: 7.5 (+100)

How To Watch Guardians vs. Mariners

TV: Bally Sports Great Lakes (Guardians) / Root SportsNet Northwest (Mariners) / MLB Extra Innings

Stream: MLB.TV

Time: 9:40 p.m. ET/6:40 p.m. PT

*Watch Guardians-Mariners LIVE on fuboTV (click for a free trial)*

Why The Guardians Could Cover The Spread

The logic behind picking the Guardians in this game is based on the pitching matchup. Triston McKenzie has a live young arm and is a pitcher who can dominate games. Maybe he won't dominate here, but the Mariners do not offer an especially threatening batting order. McKenzie should be able to avoid any big innings and pitch into the sixth inning if not the seventh. Seattle is going with Emerson Hancock, who is at the back end of the rotation. This is Seattle's fifth game of the regular season, so one could reasonably conclude that Hancock is the No. 5 starter in the rotation for the Mariners. Against McKenzie, that's not a good matchup for the M's.

Why The Mariners Could Cover The Spread

The Mariners do not have a good offense, but even the worst offenses will have games in which they click. The rhythms of a baseball season are such that after several subpar performances, even bad teams or bad offenses will bust loose. Consider the Kansas City Royals exploding for 11 runs on Sunday against the Minnesota Twins. That doesn't mean the Royals are good, but it was a case of an offense struggling for multiple games but then having a good day at the yard. Such is baseball. The Mariners, who couldn't score much against the Red Sox, will score a lot more here.

Final Guardians-Mariners Prediction & Pick

The pitching matchup here is impossible to ignore. The Guardians have a clear-cut advantage. Take Cleveland.

Final Guardians-Mariners Prediction & Pick: Guardians -1.5