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Guardians vs. Brewers Prediction, Odds and Key Players for Friday, August 16

An interleague weekend series begins on Friday between the Cleveland Guardians and Milwaukee Brewers.

By Benjamin Upson

Aug 14, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; The Cleveland Guardians celebrate a win over the Chicago Cubs at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 14, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; The Cleveland Guardians celebrate a win over the Chicago Cubs at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports / David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
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The weekend slate in Major League Baseball contains a treat with an interleague showdown between the Cleveland Guardians and Milwaukee Brewers. Both teams have surprised many this season and are in fantastic shape to make deep runs into the month of October. 

The Guardians continue to challenge for the best record in the league at 72-49, despite a recent 7-game losing streak to begin the month of August. The Brewers continue cruising in the NL Central at 69-52, currently with a 9-game cushion. These phenomenal resumes come together this weekend. Here’s how to play the Friday opener.

Guardians vs. Brewers Odds, Run Line and Total

Run Line

  • Guardians: -1.5 (+150)
  • Brewers: +1.5 (-182)

Moneyline

  • Brewers: -110
  • Brewers: -106

Total: 8 (Over -110/Under -110)

Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook

Guardians vs. Brewers Betting Trends

  • Guardians are 34-29 on the road this season
  • Brewers are 26-14 as home favorite this season
  • Guardians team batting average is .241, 17th in MLB
  • Brewers team ERA is 3.74, 4th in MLB

Guardians vs. Brewers: How To Watch

  • Date: Friday, August 16th
  • Game Time: 8:10 PM
  • Venue: American Family Field, Milwaukee, WI
  • How To Watch (TV, Streaming): Bally Sports Great Lakes, Bally Sports Wisconsin, MLB.TV
  • Guardians Record: 72-49
  • Brewers Record: 69-52

Guardians vs. Brewers Key Players To Watch

Guardians

Jose Ramirez: Third baseman Jose Ramirez continues to be a threat to all of Major League Baseball. He’s having an awesome year, batting .281 with 31 home runs, 98 RBI and 39 walks. While he’s been caught in a bit of a dry spell recently, Ramirez is approaching 1,500 hits for his career and is one of the better power hitters out there today. He leads the Guardians in multiple different categories and by quite a margin. As the leader of this team, the sky’s the limit for Cleveland the rest of the way.

Brewers

William Contreras: The veteran catcher William Contreras continues to be the primary source of offense on this roster. Batting .285 this season with 16 home runs and 70 RBI, his numbers have continued to tick up in August. He had a successful series against the Dodgers earlier this week, going 5-15 with a double, 3 home runs and 4 RBI. Since landing in Milwaukee in 2023, Contreras has seen a ton of usage and more consistent production as a result. There’s a lot to look forward to for him the rest of the season.

Guardians vs. Brewers Prediction and Pick

It’s a showdown between some central division powerhouses across both leagues. Each team certainly has a lot to play for, including best record, division titles and perhaps even a shot at the No. 1 seeds in their respective playoff hunts. These are not the most discussed teams in terms of playoff relevance, but they are attempting to make a statement this October.

Looking at the Friday pitching matchups, Cleveland rolls with Gavin Williams on the bump for this game. Called up at the end of June, Williams is the Guardians top pitching prospect. He’s been decent so far, 2-4 with a 4.38 ERA and 42 strikeouts across 8 starts. Williams is coming off his best performance of the year on Saturday against Minnesota, lasting 6 innings, allowing a run on 4 hits and 3 strikeouts in 73 pitches. As he continues adjusting to the big leagues, he keeps trying to work his way up.

Milwaukee sends out Aaron Civale to the hill, the newfound starter acquired from Tampa Bay in early July. The ledger does not look very healthy with a 3-8 record, 5.02 ERA, 113 strikeouts and a 1.39 WHIP. Civale’s role is to fill some major injury holes and he is anchoring the bottom portion in the rotation. His last time out against Cincinnati was one of his better performances, tossing 6.1 innings, allowing 2 runs on 5 hits and 5 strikeouts, part of a 93-pitch outing. He’s good enough in the interim for the Brewers.

This game rightfully so is a toss-up and I’m right in line with the sportsbooks on the razor thin margin here, both teams are listed at -108 currently (FanDuel). The pitching matchup doesn’t make me confident in backing a winner, so I’m going to look at the total here. 

It seems like a total of 8 runs is generous (-110, FanDuel) when we’re getting a pair of pitchers who have been relatively underperforming. While both teams aren’t necessarily astounding in offensive metrics, I’ll happily back a pretty tame over number in this spot.

Pick: Guardians-Brewers OVER 8 (-110)

Note: Game odds are subject to change.

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