Cleveland Guardians vs Oakland Athletics 4/4/2023 Tips, Picks and Previews
The Cleveland Guardians are set to continue their season on Monday night as they take on the Oakland Athletics in the first game of a three-game series on the road. Cleveland has enjoyed a strong start to the season, winning two out of their first three games, including a hard-fought 2-0 victory over the Seattle Mariners on Saturday. The win was largely thanks to a dominant performance by starting pitcher Aaron Civale, who held the Mariners scoreless on just two hits over seven innings.
Coming off a divisional title and a playoff series win, the surprising Cleveland Guardians didn’t stand pat in the offseason. With just 127 home runs, the Guardians added some pop by signing a pair of slugging free agents. Josh Bell, formerly of the Nationals and Padres, was signed to give the Guardians more power at first base and catcher Mike Zunino was brought in to give the team added power at the catching position. For the most part, the Guardians did not lose anyone of note, and hope that the added power to the team’s speed and timely hitting will take them even further in 2023. The Guardians are off to a good start after taking three of four from the Mariners over the weekend. Zunino helped the cause on Sunday with his first home run of the season in an eventual 6-5 win in 10 innings.
Despite some struggles at the plate, Cleveland’s offense did enough to secure the win, with Josh Naylor and Andres Gimenez hitting solo home runs in the fourth and seventh innings, respectively. However, the team did leave six men on base and failed to get a hit with runners in scoring position. Shane Bieber will start for Cleveland and is 0-0 with a 0.00 ERA and 3 strikeouts this season. JP Sears will make the start for Oakland here and was 6-3 with a 3.86 ERA and 51 strikeouts last season.
- The Cleveland Guardians are 14-3 SU in their last 17 games on the road.
- Cleveland is 6-0 SU in their last 6 games when playing on the road against Oakland.
- The total went OVER in 8 of Cleveland’s last 12 games with an opponent in the AL West Division.
Cleveland Guardians vs Oakland Athletics 4/4/2023 Tips, Picks and Previews
Meanwhile, the Oakland Athletics will be looking to bounce back after suffering a heavy defeat to the Los Angeles Angels in their most recent game. Shintaro Fujinami struggled on the mound, giving up eight runs on five hits before being pulled after just seven outs. Adam Oller came on in relief, but also struggled, giving up five runs on six hits over 4.2 innings.
The Oakland Athletics continue their long process back to respectability as the 2023 season kicks off. After winning the season opener 2-1, the Athletics were outscored 19-1 in the final two games to start the season at 1-2. Oakland spent the majority of last season with one of the worst offenses in Major League baseball and that seems to still be an issue after the team scored just three runs in the three-game series, including a 6-0 shutout loss on Sunday. Ken Waldichuk gave up six runs on 9 hits, including 3 home runs, in the loss.
- The total remained UNDER in 4 of Oakland’s last 6 games at home.
- The Oakland Athletics are 0-6 SU in their last 6 games when playing at home against Cleveland.
- The total stayed UNDER in 4 of Oakland’s last 6 games with an opponent in the American League.
Cleveland Guardians vs Oakland Athletics. The MLB pick for this game is the Cleveland Guardians. The Guardians have played better baseball to start the year and will continue that trend on Tuesday. The better pitcher will lead this game to victory as they did in their last contest. Take Cleveland to continue to roll Tuesday as they pick up another road win in Oakland. Prediction: The Cleveland Guardians win 7-4.
MLB Starting Time: 9:40 PM (EDT)
Location: Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum in Oakland, CA
Date: Tuesday, April 4, 2023
TV: MLBN
MLB Odds: Cleveland Guardians -200
MLB Totals: 7.0