At 10:07 PM ET tonight in Oakland, the Athletics are set to host the Guardians in an American League matchup. The starting pitchers will be Shane Bieber for Cleveland and Alex Wood for Oakland. The Guardians are currently favored in this one, with a money line of -161 compared to the Athletics’ +135.

Looking at the over/under line, oddsmakers have set the total runs at 7.5. The under is currently sitting at -120, while the over is at -101. If you’re looking at the run line, the Guardians are at -1.5 (+110), while the Athletics are at 1.5 (-135).

OAKLAND ATHLETICS VS CLEVELAND GUARDIANS BETTING PICK

The Pick: Oakland Athletics Moneyline +135

This game will be played at Oakland Coliseum at 10:07 ET on Thursday, March 28th.

HOW TO BET THE GUARDIANS VS ATHLETICS:

  • We have the Athletics winning by a score of 5 to 4
  • If you’re looking for a run line pick, we also like the Athletics to cover
  • As for an over/under pick, we have this game finishing with 9 runs and like the over

Guardians Records & Stats

The Guardians missed out on the playoffs last season, finishing with a record of 76-86. In the American League, they were 11th and 3rd in the AL Central. In their division, Cleveland went 23-29.

At home, the Guardians were above .500, going 42-39, but they were below .500 on the road with a record of 34-47. Overall, their series record was 20-25-6, and they went 11-12-3 in series played at home.

Last season, the Guardians finished with a run line record of 80-82, including a 38-43 mark at home and 42-39 on the road. Overall, their average run differential was -.2 runs per game. In games they won, their average scoring margin was +3 runs per game compared to -3.1 runs per game in losses. For the season, they were favored in 49.4% of their games, going 27-53 vs. the run line as the favorite.

When looking at the over/under line for today’s game between the Cleveland Guardians and their opponent, the line is set at 7.5 runs. Last season, the Guardians had an over/under record of 69-89, and their games averaged a combined 8.4 runs per game. When looking at their games individually, 74.1% of their games had higher over/under lines than today’s line of 7.5 runs, and in games with an O/U line of 7.5 runs, the over/under record was 18-17.

Shane Bieber is coming off a season in which he made 21 starts and finished with a record of 6-6. His ERA for the season was 3.80, and he had a WHIP of 1.23. Bieber allowed a batting average of .244 and an on-base percentage of .290. He finished the season with 14 home runs allowed and 13 quality starts. For the season, Bieber averaged 7.52 strikeouts per nine innings and 2.39 walks per nine innings. He finished the season with a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 3.1.

Despite finishing the season with the 26th-ranked offense in terms of runs per game (4.1), the Cleveland Guardians were the best team in the league at avoiding strikeouts. Their home run total of 124 was 25th in the NBA, and their RBI rank was 28th. On the season, the Guardians hit .250 (10th) as a team, but their slugging percentage of .381 was 25th. When looking at their home/road splits, the Guardians averaged 4.4 runs per game on the road compared to 3.8 at home.

The Cleveland Guardians will be looking for big seasons from José Ramírez and Josh Naylor. Last season, Ramírez hit .282 with 24 home runs and 80 RBIs. Naylor hit .308 with 17 home runs and 97 RBIs.

Athletics Records & Stats

Despite being the home team, the Athletics are listed as the underdog in today’s game against the Guardians. Last season, Oakland missed out on the playoffs, finishing with a record of 50-112.

Within the American League, the Athletics were in 15th place and 5th in the AL West. In their division, Oakland went 14-38 and had an overall series record of 12-36-3.

Despite finishing last season with a run line record of 77-85, the Oakland Athletics were the underdog in 98.1% of their games. In those games, they went 76-83 vs. the run line. Their average run differential was -2.1 runs per game, which was the same at home and on the road. In games they covered the run line, their average scoring margin was +1.6 runs per game, compared to -5.4 runs per game in games they did not cover.

When looking at the Athletics’ over/under record from last season, they finished with a mark of 87-70. On average, their games had an over/under line of 8.6 runs, and their contests averaged a combined 9.3 runs per game. In games with an O/U line of 7.5 runs, the over/under record was 14-8. Last year, 61.7% of their games finished with more runs than 7.5 runs.

Alex Wood is coming off a season in which he made 12 starts and 29 appearances. His record was 5-5, and his ERA finished at 4.33. Wood’s WHIP for the season was 1.43, and he allowed a batting average of .259. His FIP for the season was 4.47, and he gave up a total of nine home runs. Wood’s strikeout-to-walk ratio for the season was 1.8, and he averaged 1.4 walks per game.

Despite finishing 29th in runs per game last season, the Athletics were actually worse at home, averaging just 3.3 runs per game, which was 29th in the league. Overall, Oakland’s offense hit just .223, which was 22nd in the league, and they were 30th in RBI’s. On the road, they hit .223, which was 27th in the league, and their road WOBA was .316 (25th).

The Athletics’ top returning home run hitter is Brent Rooker, who hit 30 home runs and drove in 69 runs last season. Shea Langeliers hit 22 home runs and batted .205 last season, while J.D. Davis batted .248 and hit 18 home runs. Davis is also the team’s top returning hitter in terms of hits. He hit .248 and drove in 69 runs. Davis was acquired from the Giants in the off season.