Athletics vs. Guardians Prediction and Odds for Thursday, June 9 (Guardians Rise Continues)

The Cleveland Guardians host the Oakland Athletics in the first matchup of a four-game series tonight at 7:10 PM EST.

Konnor Pilkington gets the call for Cleveland coming off five shutout innings against the Royals. He has a 2.65 ERA on the season and will be making just his fourth start after converting from the bullpen.

Oakland counters with James Kaprielian, who is 0-3 with a 6.04 ERA through seven starts. With six home runs allowed in his last four outings, Kaprielian has struggled with limiting hard contact and has given up at least four runs in each of his last three.

Can Pilkington build off his strong performance last week to keep Cleveland's nice run going or will Kaprielian earn his first victory of the season?

Let's check out the odds from WynnBET to help find the value in this Athletics vs Guardians matchup:

Athletics vs Guardians Odds, Run Line and Total

Run Line:

• Athletics +1.5 (-135)
• Guardians -1.5 (+115)

Moneyline:

• Athletics +140
• Guardians -165

Total:

• 8.5 (Over -120/Under +100)

Athletics vs Guardians Prediction and Pick

These two squads are moving in opposite directions. Heading into last night's slate, the Guardians were 6-2 over their last eight and rapidly gaining ground on Minnesota in the AL Central. Oakland, meanwhile, had lost seven straight behind a lineup quickly asserting itself as the worst in MLB.

During this 0-7 stretch, the Athletics have scored only 1.71 runs per game. Keep in mind that James Kaprielian has given up at least four in his last three starts, so the A's would need to play three games to score as much as Kaprielian typically surrenders.

This would be a difficult enough matchup for Oakland even if Kaprielian didn't have a disastrous 6.06 ERA, because Guardians' starter Konnor Pilkington is finding his stride.

The 24-year-old lefty looked sensational against the Royals last week, striking out eight batters in five scoreless innings. He has an obscene 47.4% whiff rate on his changeup. Essentially, half of the time hitters swing at his changeup they miss. His slider has a 44.4% whiff rate too, so it's no wonder he ranks in the 83rd percentile in strikeout rate.

That's bad news for an A's lineup that strikes out at the third-highest rate in MLB on the road at just under 10 per game. This should be a blowout as the Guardians improve to 5-1 on the run line in their last six as a home favorite.

PICK: Guardians -1.5 (+115)

Follow all of Joe Summers' betting picks here.