The Cleveland Guardians and Houston Astros are slated to finish their three game series on Thursday. Houston won the first game. The Guardians came back with a 3-2 win in extra innings on Wednesday. This game will decide the winner of the three game series.
The win for the Guardians pushed them to 10 games over .500. Cleveland is 20-10 on the season, and leading the American League Central. The Guardians have gone 12-6 when playing on the road this season. The win on Wednesday snapped a two game losing streak for Cleveland
For the Astros, they fell to 10-20 on the season. It has been a woeful start for the Astros, and now they are 5-10 at home this season. The Astros had their three game winning streak snapped with the loss.
The Houston Astros are -130 at home over the Cleveland Guardians on Thursday. The total for this affair is listed at 9.5 runs.
Guardians Playing Solid Baseball
The Cleveland Guardians have been really good to start the season. Cleveland is scoring more than 5 runs per game. The Guardians are averaging more than 8 hits per game as well. Cleveland does not hit for a ton of power, with just 29 home runs on the season. The team pitching for Cleveland has been incredible, allowing just 3.7 runs per game.
The top offensive threats for the Guardians have been Steven Kwan, Josh Naylor and Jose Ramirez. Kwan is hitting .350 on the season. Naylor has a team high 7 homeruns and Ramirez is the biggest threat on a consistent basis up and down that lineup.
Logan Allen is slated to get the start in this game for the Cleveland Guardians. Allen is 3-1 on the season, with a 5.46 earned run average. The 25 year old holds a 3-1 record with a 5.46 earned run average. He has thrown 31.1 innings this season, and struck out 26 batters, while walking 11. Allen’s last start was on April 26th at Atlanta. He went 4.2 innings, and allowed 5 hits and 4 runs in the game.
Houston off to Slow Start
The Houston Astros are not off to a slow start offensive In fact, the Astros have the third best batting average in Major League Baseball. Houston is hitting .265 on the season. The Astros are scoring more than 4.5 runs per game. The pitching has been the issue. Houston is allowing teams to score 5.3 per game.
The top offensive threat for Houston has been Jose Altuve. The infielder is hitting .345 on the season. Jeremy Pena is at .327 and Kyle Tucker is right at .300. The top power threat for Houston has been Altuve and Yordan Alvarez. They both have clubbed 7 home runs on the season.
For the Houston Astros, they plan to throw Spencer Arrighetti. He has struggled this season. The 24 year old is 0-3 on the season, with a 10.97 earned run average. Arrighetti has thrown just 10.2 innings, and allowed 13 earned runs. His last start was at the Cubs, where he allowed 7 hits and 4 runs over 3.2 innings.
Guardians Win Series
The Cleveland Guardians are going to win this series. They have the better starting pitcher, and are playing better baseball right now. Houston remains in a funk. We like Allen to throw a gem in this game and keep the Houston bats off balance.
Our final pick for this game is the Cleveland Guardians +115 over the Houston Astros. Enjoy the game and best of luck with all your Major League Baseball betting!
