Guardians vs. Athletics Prediction and Odds for Sunday, May 1 (McKenzie to Dominate Hapless A's)

The 9-12 Cleveland Guardians are gunning for a sweep as they take on the 10-11 Oakland Athletics today at 4:07 PM EST.

After losing seven straight, Cleveland won each of the first two games of this series as the Athletics have now lost five of seven themselves.

Oakland will try to salvage a win with James Kaprielian on the mound today. Kaprielian is making his season debut after a solid rookie campaign in which he compiled a 4.07 ERA over 119 innings.

Triston McKenzie and his 3.71 ERA gets the nod for the Guardians. I'm high on McKenzie this year and have been encouraged by his early performance, but he'll need to harness his power and pitch deeper into games to reach his potential.

Can McKenzie stifle a struggling Athletics' lineup or will Oakland end the series with a victory?

Here are the odds from WynnBET Sportsbook as we pick a winner in this Guardians vs Athletics matchup:

Guardians vs Athletics Odds, Run Line and Total

Run Line:

• Guardians -1.5 (+140)
• Athletics +1.5 (-170)

Moneyline:

• Guardians: -118
• Athletics: +108

Total:

• 7.5 (Over +100/Under -120)

Guardians vs Athletics Prediction and Pick

Oakland has one of the very worst offenses in baseball. They've scored two runs or fewer in eight of their last 10 games and rank 23rd in OPS. Cleveland has been inconsistent offensively, but they're sixth in OPS and can explode at any moment.

James Kaprielian was serviceable, maybe even good, in his rookie campaign last year but struggled to go deep in games. Oakland has a solid bullpen, but they'll be gassed after the last two games and all it takes is one poor performance for the Guardians to take control. Since the Athletics cannot score, at all, their path to victory is in shutting Cleveland's offense down. It can happen, but I think it's far less likely than the odds suggest.

Triston McKenzie's strength lies in his ability to overpower hitters and generate strikeouts. The Athletics average the third-most strikeouts per game in the league, so they'll play right into McKenzie's game plan.

I love the value on Cleveland to get the sweep, but I'll also be playing the over on McKenzie's strikeout prop as well. He's hit over 5.5 strikeouts in two of his four starts and should feast on Oakland's lineup. It's a lovely day to take advantage of one of the worst offenses in baseball, indeed.

Pick: Guardians (-118) and Triston McKenzie Over 5.5 K's (+105)

Follow all of Joe Summers' betting picks here.