The Cleveland Guardians (7-4, 2-2 home) face the New York Yankees (6-4, 2-2 away) in the second matchup of a three-game American League series. New York scored two runs in the first, but the Guardians held the Yankees scoreless over the next eight frames to pull out a 3-2 victory.
First pitch of the contest is at 6:10 p.m. EST inside Progressive Field in Cleveland, Ohio. New York favored in the matchup (-165 moneyline), and the over/under total is 7.5 runs.
What to Know – New York Yankees
New York took two of three from the Baltimore Orioles before falling short in Monday’s opener to Cleveland. Every team in the AL East is chasing the Tampa Bay Rays, who have jumped out to an undefeated start through ten games.
Staff ace Gerrit Cole (2-0, 0.73 ERA, 0.89 WHIP) is the probable starter from the Yankees. Cole has been effective so far this year in two starts, pitching 12.1 innings while allowing one earned run on six hits and five walks with 19 strikeouts.
On offense, the Yankees are averaging 4.6 runs per game and hitting .241 as a team. New York is fourth in the MLB with 16 home runs as a team.
Earlier leaders for the Yankees offense has been Gleyber Torres and Aaron Judge. Torres is 12-for-31 (.387 avg) at the plate with a pair of home runs, six runs batted in, and seven runs scored. Judge leads the team with four home runs, seven RBIs, and nine runs scored.
What to Know – Cleveland Guardians
Cleveland has won a pair of one-run games in a row and owns a half-game lead in the AL Central. The Guardians are 4-1 this season when playing as the underdog.
The extended starter for the hosts is right-hander Hunter Gaddis (0-0, 3.72 ERA, 0.93 WHIP). Gaddis bounced back after lasting just 3.2 innings in his season debut, throwing six shutout innings in a no-decision against Oakland. The 25-year-old has tossed 9.2 innings, surrendering four earned runs, six hits, three walks, and striking out eight batters.
The Guardians rank in the bottom half of the league in team batting average (.239) but sit in the upper half in run production, scoring 4.8 runs per game. Cleveland has averaged only 3.8 runs per game at home through four contests.
Cleveland is last in the league with five home runs as a team, two of them belong to Josh Naylor. Steven Kwan is the team’s RBI leader with eight, and Myles Straw paces the squad with a .343 average and .489 on-base percentage.
The Pick is In
The Yankees have a huge advantage in the pitching matchup in this one, with a five-time All-Star on the hill. Cleveland hasn’t been able to get the run production it would like from its offense at home, and that won’t be good against Cole. New York bounces back in a low-scoring victory.
The Pick: New York Yankees ML
