The MLB action will slow down a bit on Thursday, September 1, as we have eight games on tap, but this battle for a wildcard spot is quite intriguing, and here you can get the best Orioles vs. Guardians betting pick and odds.

Baltimore and Cleveland will play the final of a three-game series at Progressive Field, and the Guardians are -190 moneyline favorites on Bovada Sportsbook, while the total is set at 7.5 runs. These American League foes have faced three times this season before this series, and Cleveland won two of those games. The Guardians also opened this series with a victory.

Orioles toothless against Quantrill

The Baltimore Orioles won three consecutive series against the Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Sox, and Houston Astros, but they opened this one against the Cleveland Guardians with a 5-1 loss. Still, the Orioles are very much alive in the race for a wildcard place and it’s evident they will fight till the very end.

Baltimore displayed one of the weakest offensive performances of the campaign in a 5-1 defeat to the Guardians as they recorded a miserable one hit. It was Ramon Urias in the second inning, after which Ryan Mountcastle hit a sacrifice fly to drive him in, and that was all from Baltimore in this one. Spenser Watkins (4-5) suffered a loss after allowing five runs on six hits with three strikeouts and no walks in 4.2 innings.

Kyle Bradish (2-5) is getting his 17th start of the year when he meets Cleveland on Thursday. The 25-year-old right-handed rookie has a bloated 5.63 ERA, 1.54 WHIP, and 79/29 K/BB ratio across 80.0 innings of work.

Guardians controlled the Orioles in the opener

The Cleveland Guardians returned home from a six-game road trip on which they got three wins that allowed them to stay atop of the AL Central ahead of the Minnesota Twins. That position is far from being secured, though, and Cleveland knows it has to win as many games as possible, especially at home.

That mindset helped them in the opening game of the series against the Baltimore Orioles as the Guardians kept the visitors at bay and let just one hit in a 5-1 win. Josh Naylor and Steven Kwan chipped in two RBIs each, while Cal Quantrill improved to an 11-5 record after surrendering one run with four strikeouts and three walks in 6.0 innings.

Shane Bieber (8-7) will be on the mound for the 25th time this year when he takes on Baltimore on Thursday. The 27-year-old righty owns an excellent 3.02 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, and 153/32 K/BB ratio across 152.0 innings.

Trends:

Baltimore:

  • 19-7 in the last 26 games with the total set at 7.0-8.5
  • 28-12 in the last 40 games on grass

Cleveland:

N/A

Baltimore Orioles vs. Cleveland Guardians Odds Pick  

Bieber has experienced a fantastic August and registered a great 1.62 ERA with three wins in five starts (3-1), not allowing more than two runs in each. He also owns a strong record against Baltimore’s batters, and I am backing Shane to have another quality start here. However, the Orioles have been batting well against righties this year (4.41 runs per nine innings) and I think they have the ability to cause problems for Bieber. I am going with the visitors to stay close, but undoubtedly, the Guardians are closer to victory. Bradish didn’t surrender more than three runs in each of his last six starts, and he will be fine on Thursday.

Pick: Take the Orioles at +1.5 Run Line (-130)

The Total

I noted how good both Bieber and Bradish are pitching recently, and given how Cleveland and Baltimore’s games tend to be low-scoring of late, I cannot miss the opportunity to back Under. This one is likely going to be a one-run baseball game and it will be a tight duel, so don’t expect to see plenty of hits and runs. Under is 6-0 in the Orioles’ last six overall, Under is 6-0 in Baltimore’s previous six road games, while Under is 7-0 in the Orioles’ last seven road games vs. a right-handed starter. When it comes to Cleveland, Under is 16-4-1 in the Guardians’ last 21 overall.

Pick: Go Under 7.5 runs (-110)