The Oakland Athletics (19-56) and Cleveland Guardians (34-38) play the middle game of a 3-game set Wednesday at Progressive Field. First pitch is at 7:10 p.m. ET. Let’s analyze BetMGM Sportsbook’s lines around the Athletics vs. Guardians odds and make our expert MLB picks and predictions for the best bets.
Season series: Guardians lead 3-1
The A’s fell 3-2 in 10 innings Tuesday after taking a 2-0 lead in the 7th. The Guardians tied it in the bottom half and won it in the extra frame. Oakland has now lost 6 in a row after its 7-game win streak. The A’s are just 9-21 over the last 30 games.
The Guardians have won 2 in a row to make it an even 5-5 over the last 10 games. They sit just 1 game behind the Minnesota Twins for 1st place in the AL Central. Cleveland is 15-15 over its last 30 games, but has gone 11-6 against the AL West.
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Athletics at Guardians projected starters
RHP Paul Blackburn vs. RHP Gavin Williams
Blackburn (0-0, 3.48 ERA) makes his 5th start. He has a 1.36 WHIP, 2.6 BB/9 and a 10.0 K/9 in 20 2/3 innings.
- Last start: No-decision, 5 2/3 IP, 2 ER, 7 H, 1 BB, 9 K Thursday against Tampa Bay Rays
- In 4 career starts vs. Guardians: 1-1, 2.96 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, 15 K in 24 1/3 IP
Williams is making his major-league debut. He’s 3-2 with a 2.93 ERA, a 1.09 WHIP, 4.1 BB/9 and 11.9 K/9 in 46 innings at Triple-A Columbus.
- Last start: Loss, 5 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, 3 BB, 5 K June 14 against Triple-A Omaha.
- The 23rd overall pick in the 2021 MLB Draft throws a fastball, slider, curveball and changeup. He threw his fastball, which can touch 100 mph, 62% of the time at Omaha
Athletics at Guardians odds
Provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 9:45 a.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): Athletics +145 (bet $100 to win $145) | Guardians -175 (bet $175 to win $100)
- Run line (RL)/Against the spread (ATS): Athletics +1.5 (-135) | Guardians -1.5 (+110)
- Over/Under (O/U): 8 (O: -115 | U: -105)
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Athletics at Guardians picks and predictions
Prediction
Athletics 4, Guardians 3
Moneyline
The key to this game will be how many strikes Williams can throw in his MLB debut. He dominated hitters with his fastball at Triple-A, but he got hit hard when contact was made. That led to a lot of walks.
On the other side, you have Blackburn, who is a solid, former All-Star pitcher. He’s coming off a decent showing with 9 K’s against the Rays. Let’s go bold here and take the ATHLETICS +145.
Run line/Against the spread
Oakland has a slightly better record on the road than they do at home. The A’s are also 17-20 on the RL on the road, which is saying something for a team 37 games below .500. They’ve lost 3 straight 1-run games and have covered this in 8 of 10.
The ATHLETICS +1.5 (-135) is my favorite bet in this one.
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Over/Under
The A’s are just 2-8 O/U over the last 10, and Cleveland is 5-4-1. Neither of these teams score many runs, and it seems like if Cleveland gets to 4 runs, the lights are out most times. The wild card is Williams in his MLB debut.
The wind is blowing in at 9 mph. The Under is 33-16-3 in the last 52 meetings in Cleveland. The Under has cashed in the Guardians’ last 4 against a team with a winning percentage below .400.
Wait until closer to gametime for this one because I think the total will steam up to 8.5, but LEAN UNDER 8 (-105).
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