Cleveland, OH

Chicago Cubs vs. Cleveland Guardians prediction, pick for Sunday 4/5/26

Published

2 months ago

April 5, 2026

Chicago Cubs vs. Cleveland Guardians prediction, pick for Sunday 4/5/26

Charlie Cummings previews Sunday’s MLB matchup between the Chicago Cubs and the Cleveland Guardians and provides his best pick.

Does this matchup sound familiar? Nearly ten years after that fabled World Series, the Cubs and Guardians are going head-to-head once again. It’s a matchup full of talent that promises to bring excitement as we kick off a Sunday doubleheader.

First pitch is set for 1:10 p.m. ET. The Cubs are solid -136 moneyline road favorites on DraftKings Sportsbook, while a Guardians home upset is priced at +113. The game total is set at O/U eight runs.

Let’s get into a pick and prediction for this Cubs-Guardians game.

Cubs vs. Guardians Preview

First things first, let’s learn a bit more about these starting pitchers.

Edward Cabrera takes the mound for his second start as a Cub. He looked every bit the ace they traded for in the offseason in his team debut. Facing the Angels, Cabrera twirled six shutout innings, striking out five while allowing only one hit and one walk. He brings a unique arsenal, using a changeup as his primary pitch. You’ll also see a big fastball and some bendy breaking balls. When Cabrera has his best stuff going, he’s nearly untouchable.

Opposite him will be another young right-hander, Slade Cecconi. He certainly took his lumps in 2025, his first full season as a Guardian. He gave up a ton of hard contact, finishing in the bottom third percentile among all MLB starters in barrel rate, hard-hit rate, and average exit velocity. That resulted in a 4.30 ERA over his 23 starts, and it didn’t look much better in his first game of 2026. Against the Mariners, Cecconi got lit up for six earned runs on six hits and three walks. Now is the time for him to turn it around.

Chicago’s lineup underwent a makeover at the top, as Kyle Tucker departed for the Dodgers. Alex Bregman came over from the Red Sox to bolster the order and solidify the hot corner. So far, the bats are struggling, but there is too much talent here to be kept down for long. Pete Crow-Armstrong, Ian Happ, Nico Hoerner, and Michael Busch are too strong a core for these poor results to continue.

Cleveland isn’t known for its offense. Typically, José Ramirez is asked to carry the lineup. So far, the rest of the lineup is failing him while he’s off to an atypical start. Except for one man: Chase DeLauter. The rookie, who debuted in last year’s playoffs, is on an absolute tear to start his first regular season. His five home runs lead all of Major League Baseball, and he doesn’t look like he will be stopping anytime soon.

Both teams bring strong bullpens to this one, with a mix of veteran arms and up-and-coming flamethrowers. Daniel Palencia handles the ninth for Chicago and has several veterans in front of him. Cleveland is led by Cade Smith, arguably the best reliever in the league. He also gets support from Shawn Armstrong and Matt Festa, two solid veteran arms. Once the starters leave this game, the boys in the pen will bring it.

Now we know these teams a bit better. What is the best way to bet on this one?

Cubs vs. Guardians Pick, Best Bet

Despite comparable production this season (or lack thereof), this Cubs lineup is significantly more talented than the Guardians’ batters. I also see a serious gap between Cabrera and Cecconi. With both teams likely to play the bullpens a bit safe on the doubleheader, that starting pitcher gap carries a big edge. I expect the Cubs to set the tone for this doubleheader with a convincing win.

Best Bet: Chicago Cubs -1.5 (+129)

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Cleveland, OH

Yankees Take Another in Cleveland

Published

3 hours ago

June 10, 2026

Press Room

The Cleveland Guardians fell to the New York Yankees, again, tonight. Dropping game two in this series gives New York the series win and puts the Guardians five games above .500.

Slade Cecconi had a strong outing and is looking like he is hitting a groove. Cecconi went 5.0 innings, giving up 2 runs on 6 hits and 2 walks. He struck out two batters.

The Guardians scored 2 runs on 10 hits and 4 walks. Both runs came in the bottom of the third inning.

With two quick outs to start the inning, José Ramírez hit a single to center, then reached second on his 24th stolen base of the season. Chase DeLuter singled to center, scoring José from second. Kyle Manzardo drew a walk and Rhys Hoskins was hit by pitch to load them up. Angel Martínez singled to Paul Goldschmidt at first base who made a diving catch. Goldschmidt lobbed the ball to the pitcher with just enough arch that Angel was able to slide into first and beat out the tag.

In the top of the fourth, Travis Bazzana made a great sliding catch to end the inning.

The Guards bullpen did their best to hold it down, all things considering. Colin Holderman walked a batter in his inning of work. Tim Herrin gave up a run in his second inning of work, a solo shot to Jazz Chisolm Jr. He fell to 0-2 on the season, recording the loss. The home run was the only hit he allowed. Matt Festa finished the eighth inning, allowing only one other hit. Shawn Armstrong closed the game, keeping the Yankees at bay, but the damage was already done

This team is going through a funk that seems like it could be easily fixed with a couple of pieces or strategic moves. Tonight they left 13 runners on base and were 2-for-10 with runners in scoring position. While the hot start to this season is providing the buffer they need for these sorts of slumps, something needs to improve soon or the White Sox will be taking ahold of first place in the AL Central before we know it.

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Cleveland, OH

New York Yankees vs. Cleveland Guardians prediction, pick for Tuesday 6/9/26

Published

13 hours ago

June 9, 2026

Press Room

New York Yankees vs. Cleveland Guardians prediction, pick for Tuesday 6/9/26

Bryan Armetta offers up a preview, prediction and pick for Tuesday’s MLB game between the New York Yankees and Cleveland Guardians.

It took ten innings, but the Yankees (39-26) eked out a 7-5 win on Tuesday. New York is in a dead heat with the rival Rays for first place in the AL East. As for the Guardians (37-31), winning the lackluster AL Central isn’t their biggest challenge. Cleveland is hoping to prove it can take down the Junior Circuit’s best squads. A victory tonight over the hated Pinstripes would go a long way tonight.

The Yankees are favorites (-123) over the Guardians, with the over/under set at 8.5 runs. Below, I’ve laid out my preview, prediction, and best bet for Tuesday’s showdown between New York and Cleveland on DraftKings Sportsbook.

Yankees vs. Guardians pick, best bet

Yankees vs. Guardians under 8.5 runs (-103): Cole is too good of a pitcher to get beat by the same squad twice in one week. It’s not as if Cleveland’s bats come into this one on a hot streak either. As for Cecconi, continued use of the curveball will be key this evening. He’s already shown an ability to keep New York’s potent lineup in check.

Yankees vs. Guardians prediction, preview

New York was dealt a significant blow last week with the loss of Aaron Judge (ribs). Fortunately, there’s more than enough offensive firepower on this squad going forward. The duo of Ben Rice (184 wRC+) and Cody Bellinger (138 wRC+) have been terrific this season for the Bronx Bombers. As a unit, the Yankees are averaging an American League-best 5.09 runs per game. To boot, they lead all of baseball with 95 home runs. No matter how you slice it, this team can swing the bat with the best of them.

That makes this a tricky spot for Slade Cecconi this evening. The right-hander has produced a mediocre 4.92 ERA, 1.43 WHIP and 54 strikeouts (7.2 K/9). With that being said, the 27-year-old is fresh off of a six-inning, one-run outing against New York. The outing saw Cecconi mix in more curveball usage, arguably his most effective pitch. Over his last five starts, the right-hander has accounted for a 3.04 ERA. Yankees batters are slashing .167/.211/.328 against the curveball this season. Cecconi excels at limiting free passes (2.8 BB/9). New York’s offense works 4.26 walks per game, third-most in the majors.

On the other side, it’ll be Gerrit Cole toeing the slab. Over three starts this season, the former Cy Young winner owns a 2.00 ERA, 0.89 WHIP and 14 strikeouts (7.0 K/9). He gave up four earned runs over 5.1 innings last week vs. Cleveland. Still, there’s a decent chance the six-time All-Star enjoys more success tonight. The Guardians own a .678 OPS against right-handed pitching, fifth-worst in the league. In his last six meetings with Cleveland, postseason included, Cole has a 3.03 ERA.

The newest weapon in Cole’s arsenal is a changeup, which he’s thrown 16% of the time. Other off-speed weapons include the slider (16%) and curveball (12%). Against those three offerings, the Guardians own a .197 batting average, .267 on-base percentage and .267 wOBA. The team has also scored 37 runs over their previous ten contests, fifth-fewest in baseball during that stretch. Cleveland is averaging 4.03 runs per game at home, seventh-worst in the league this season.

Best Bet: Yankees vs. Guardians under 8.5 runs (-103)

Last week aside, Cole has been terrific this season. I’d expect New York’s ace to bounce back against a subpar Cleveland lineup. As for the Guardians, Cecconi is finally starting to get comfortable on the mound. Facing a Yankees lineup without Judge should lead to another decent performance on Tuesday. At 8.5 runs, this total feels a bit too high.