CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Cleveland Guardians will cap a three-game series against the San Diego Padres today – Sunday, July 21 – at Progressive Field. The matchup is available on multiple streaming services for free.

The game will broadcast live on Bally Sports Great Lakes with a first pitch slated for 1:40 p.m. Eastern. You can catch this game for free by utilizing streaming alternatives like FuboTV or DirecTV Stream, which both offer free trials.

The game is also available on ESPN Plus. You can get a subscription to ESPN Plus for $10.99 per month. Another option is to sign up for an annual subscription for $109.99, which saves about 17% off compared to the monthly route.

View the entire Guardians TV schedule for the remainder of the season

Here’s more information on how to watch today’s Guardians-Giants game.

• What: Cleveland Guardians vs. San Diego Padres
• When: Sunday, July 21, 2024
• Time: 1:40 p.m. Eastern
• Where: Progressive Field | Cleveland, OH
• Channels: Bally Sports Great Lakes
• Best streaming options: FuboTV (7-day free trial), DirecTV Stream (5-day free trial) and ESPN Plus
• Cable Channel Finder: AT&T U-Verse, Comcast Xfinity, Spectrum/Charter, Optimum/Altice, Cox, DirecTv, Dish, Verizon Fios

The Guardians (59-38) are coming off a 7-0 loss against the Padres on Saturday. After exploding in the post All-Star opener on Friday, the offense vanished as they continue to float around 20 games over .500.

Cleveland holds a five-game lead over the Minnesota Twins in the American League Central and have the second-best record in the Amercian League and the third-best record in Major League Baseball.

The Guardians fell to 31-12 at home. They have won each of their last eight games following a home loss.

For the first time in weeks, Cleveland will enter a game not perched atop the American League. As it stands, they trail the Baltimore Orioles by half a game. There have been concerns that they are running out of gas. The signs are there – ripping through a dominant bullpen, seeming to come up empty in timely hitting spots and an offense vanishing in thin air, at times.

On Saturday, Padres (51-50) pitcher Dylan Cease struck out 10 and San Diego combined for a one-hitter in a dominant interleague display. The Guardians have scored seven runs in their last three games.

The Guardians have lost 11 straight when scoring three or fewer runs. The Padres have lost six straight games when scoring three or fewer runs.

Cleveland will get another shot to right their wobbly ship today.

The Guardians pitching staff boasts a 3.71 overall ERA, which is seventh in the league. The offense, which is struggling recently, is near the top ten in OBP (3.16), OPS (.721) and home runs (109).

Guardians players to watch

All-Star Jose Ramirez comes in with 23 home runs, 79 RBI and 102 hits. He has crossed the plate 71 times and stolen 18 bases. Ramirez is slugging. 513.

All-Star Josh Naylor touts 22 home runs and 70 RBI while crossing the plate 55 times. He has a .804 OPS.

All-Star Steven Kwan is batting .351 with nine home runs, 27 RBI and six steals.

Watch Guardians-Padres for free on DirecTV Stream

Padres players to watch

All-Star Jurickson Profar leads San Diego with 14 home runs, 59 RBI and 103 hits. He touts a .298 batting average.

Jake Cronenworth has tallied 14 home runs, 58 RBI while crossing the plate 50 times. He is slugging .438. on the campaign.

All-Star Luis Arraez has 25 RBI and crossed the plate 50 times. His strikeout rate is just 5.6%.

Watch Guardians-Padres for free on FuboTV

Starting pitchers

Cleveland

Ben Lively will toe the rubber for the Guardians. He is 8-5 with a 3.58 ERA and 1.17 WHIP. Lively has tallied 78 strikeouts this season. He has allowed 16 hits and 11 runs in his previous 16.2 innings of work. But he has lasted five or more innings in five straight starts.

San Diego

Michael King will take the mound for Padres. He is 7-6 with a 3.41 ERA and 1.20 WHIP. King has amassed 129 strikeouts. He has a 2.74 ERA and .228 allowed batting average in road games. King has lasted five or more innings in four straight appearances.

Here’s part of a breakdown on the looming trade deadline from Guardians beat writer Paul Hoynes.

CLEVELAND, Ohio — From the outside looking in, MLB’s trade deadline may be one of the most exciting times of the season.

From inside looking out, not so much.

“I think the trade deadline stinks,” said manager Stephen Vogt. “It does. You’re either losing people you love or you’re gaining somebody that you don’t know. And it can be scary for people … it’s very real.

“In theory it sounds good where it’s like, ‘Oh, let’s go get this, let’s go get that.’ But there are a couple people that have to go away when that happens.”

The July 30 trade deadline is 10 days away. The Guardians own the best record in the American League at 59-37, but they need help, especially in the starting rotation. If they can’t add a starter, perhaps they’ll seek help for the offense or the bullpen.

Vogt said the best approach in talking to his players as the deadline approaches is be direct and honest.

“I think it’s having that open dialogue of it’s OK to not be OK with this,” said Vogt. ” It’s OK if this doesn’t feel good for a few days. And we’ve had some moves like that on our team this year that were unpopular. It hurts. It hurts us.”

Vogt said he has confidence in Chris Antonetti, Mike Chernoff, Matt Forman and the rest of the front office that they will take the team chemistry that has been created into account with any deal that is made.

“They’re very thoughtful and very smart with what they want to do,” said Vogt.