Cleveland Guardians vs Baltimore Orioles Prediction and Betting Odds August 31
Cleveland Guardians vs Baltimore Orioles Betting Preview
WagerTalk MLB handicapper Andy Lang offers his analysis of Wednesday’s Cleveland Guardians vs Baltimore Orioles clash at Progressive Field. The Orioles sit three games back of the AL Wildcard while the Guardians hold a 1.5 game lead in the AL Central. And, don’t forget, at WagerTalk you can always find the best NFL bets today updated constantly.
Wednesday, August 31 | MLB Betting Notes, Courtesy of Caesars |
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Moneyline: | Cleveland Guardians -178 vs Baltimore Orioles +150 |
Runline: | Guardians -1.5 (+125) / Orioles +1.5 (-145) |
Total: | 8 Runs (Over -120 / Under +100) |
Game Time: | 6:10pm ET / 3:10pm PT |
Where: | Progressive Field in Cleveland, OH |
Weather: | 75 Degrees / Clear |
Cleveland Guardians vs Baltimore Orioles Analysis
The Baltimore Orioles play the second of three games against the Cleveland Guardians on Wednesday night from Progressive Field. The Guardians prevailed last night with a 5-1 victory behind six strong innings from Cal Quantrill.
Both teams are in the playoff hunt as the Guardians lead the AL Central by two games, while the Orioles sit three games behind in the Wild Card race.
The journeyman Jordan Lyles gets the nod for Baltimore, while Cleveland trots out the young righty Triston McKenzie. First pitch is scheduled for 6:10 PM EST/3:10 PST.
Guardians of Progressive Field
The Cleveland Guardians improved to 68-59 after beating the Baltimore Orioles 5-1 last night. Leadoff man Steven Kwan went 1 for 3 with a double and two RBI, while Josh Naylor hit a two run blast to give him 16 on the season.
Cal Quantrill picked up his 11th win of the season while holding the Orioles to one run on one hit and three walks across six innings of work. The Guardians have been dominant at home with 33-25 record at Progressive Field.
They have avoided lengthy losing streaks which has given them a two game lead over the Minnesota Twins in the American League Central. The Cleveland offense relies heavily on Jose Ramirez as they rank 20th in both runs scored and OPS as a team.
The young righty Triston McKenzie will toe the rubber for Cleveland in game two. He is 9-10 with a 3.17 ERA and 0.95 WHIP on the season. McKenzie has churned out seven quality starts in his last ten trips to the mound.
He did face Baltimore back in June and gave up five runs on three hits across seven innings. Unfortunately for him, all three of those hits were home runs.
Orioles Continue Surprising Season
The Baltimore Orioles have proved naysayers wrong all season long and now they sit six games above .500 and three games away from a Wild Card spot.
They have won three straight series against some stiff American League competition, including the Houston Astros, Boston Red Sox and Chicago White Sox. To keep that run alive they will need to win they next two games after losing 5-1 last night.
Spenser Watkins was smashed for five runs on six hits across 4.2 innings. They literally had one hit, a Ramon Urias single as Ryan Mountcastle drove in the only run with a sacrifice fly. The O’s lineup ranks just above the bottom ten in the majors, as they rank 18th in OPS and 19th in runs scored.
Jordan Lyles will be making the start for the Orioles on Wednesday night. He is 9-9 on the season with a 4.45 ERA and 1.46 WHIP.
Lyles held the Chicago White Sox to two runs while scattering nine hits across seven innings in a no-decision. A cause for concern are his home/road splits with a 2.94 ERA at Camden and a bloated 5.85 ERA away from home.
Cleveland Guardians vs Baltimore Orioles Prediction
The Cleveland Guardians are heavy home favorites with a money line set at -170, while the Baltimore Orioles sit at +145 with a total of 8.5.
This is a crucial game for both sides as both battle for post-season positioning with only one month remaining in the regular season. These two teams are similar in most aspects, except starting rotation.
The Orioles and Guardians both have elite bullpens and both have solid but not explosive offensive attacks. McKenzie has been brilliant recently, holding opponents to only five runs in his last two outings. He allowed all five of those runs in the first inning, then clamped down.
Jordan Lyles has had issues on the road with a 5.06 xERA. One or both of these starters will get beat up early, however both pens may stop the bleeding just as quick as it started. Let’s expose these starters flaws and take the over 4.5 runs in the first five innings.
Prediction: Over 4.5 Runs Scored First Five Innings -115
First Pitch | MLB Predictions for Wednesday, August 31
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WagerTalk Live Odds Screen
WagerTalk’s Live Odds Screen features up-to-the-minute lines from a variety of offshore and domestic sports books. Track the MLB moneylines, run lines and betting percentages for all of Wednesday’s baseball games, including this Cleveland Guardians vs Baltimore Orioles showdown, from your desktop or phone.
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Meet the Author
Andy Lang has lived in Indianapolis his whole life, and like most people from the Hoosier State, he became fascinated with motor sports. That interest in motor sports turned into a desire to make money off the sport through fantasy contests and sports betting. Like most, he took his lumps when he first got started, but now he is one of the most respected NASCAR bettors in the industry. Andy has expanded that sports betting experience to become profitable in a number of other sports, transforming this interest from a side hobby to a major source of income.
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