Cleveland, OH

Cleveland Guardians vs. Los Angeles Dodgers prediction, pick for Monday 3/30/26

Published

6 days ago

March 31, 2026

Cleveland Guardians vs. Los Angeles Dodgers prediction, pick for Monday 3/30/26

Keagan Smith gives you a preview, prediction and pick for today’s game between the Cleveland Guardians and Los Angeles Dodgers on Monday’s MLB slate.

The opening days of the 2026 MLB season have been an absolute blast to watch, and as we roll into the second week of action on the diamond, there are plenty of games for fans and bettors alike to choose from.

On Monday night in the late window, the Cleveland Guardians (2-2) head to Los Angeles to take on the Dodgers (3-0). It’s a story of David vs. Goliath that certainly favors one team over the other given the nature of both lineups and their respective payrolls, but the beauty of this sport is that anything can happen on any given night.

Come fight the Monday blues with us! Here’s a betting prediction and pick for tonight’s Guardians vs. Dodgers matchup courtesy of MLB odds and lines on DraftKings Sportsbook.

Guardians vs. Dodgers prediction, preview

The Guardians made the postseason in 2025 with a surge over the second half of the campaign, and now they look to get back to the playoffs once again. They split the opening series of 2026 2-2 with the Seattle Mariners, and while an ugly 8-0 shutout did ruin the vibes to close things out, there were a couple of positives to glean. The biggest storyline by far was Chase DeLauter, the 24-year-old who debuted last postseason and has now started his first regular season by going 6-for-17 with four home runs. He’s been at the center of the production for a lineup with 13 runs in its four matchups, with the team slashing a combined .195/.262/.338. The biggest weakness of the Guardians thus far? A 32.4% K% that ranks third worst in the MLB, but obviously, it’s very early. Jose Ramirez and Steven Kwan are bound to get rolling eventually though, so there’s no reason to panic while the bats heat up. The pitching staff has more reason to worry though, giving up eight home runs in four games with a high K% at 28.6%, but also an elevated BB% at 13.6%. Not a great way to start the year, now is it?

Out in the National League, the Dodgers went a perfect 3-0 to open their own season after taking all three games over the Arizona Diamondbacks. That was expected given the massive payroll of the back-to-back World Series champs, especially after adding Kyle Tucker to their embarrassment of riches over the offseason. They’re scoring over five runs a game through the first three outings with a slash line of .222/.320/.422, but the interesting part is a .200 ISO that ranks fifth in the MLB after hammering five deep balls along with a league-high hard-hit rate of 46.7%. The Dodgers are driving the baseball already, which doesn’t come as a shock to anyone. However, an 0.73 K/BB ratio ranks third best in the sport and is a little more surprising. Oh, and did we mention that Shohei Ohtani is just 1-for-8 at the plate to start the season? The pitching staff holds a 2.67 ERA that ranks sixth to go along with the fourth-best WHIP at 0.89 and the second-lowest BB% at just 5.0%. Los Angeles is scary so far.

On the mound for Cleveland is lefty Parker Messick, who threw just seven starts in his debut campaign last season. He amassed an impressive 2.72 ERA with a 1.31 WHIP, punching out 38 hitters in 39.2 innings. While he didn’t qualify for most grades per Baseball Savant’s advanced metrics due to sample size, he would’ve been in very high percentiles for BB%, barrel rate, hard-hit rate and more.

The Dodgers will roll out righty Roki Sasaki, who threw just 10 games for Los Angeles last season with eight starts. He ended with a 4.46 ERA and 1.43 WHIP, striking out 28 hitters in 36.1 innings of work. it was a pretty uninspiring result, all things considered, but he brings nice velocity with a 96.1 MPH average on the fastball. He had some serious command issues in Spring Training though, which we’ll work with for out best bet.

Guardians vs. Dodgers pick, best bet

DraftKings Sportsbook lists the Dodgers as -199 Moneyline favorites at home this evening, while the Guardians hold +163 odds to win outright. The run total sits at an even nine.

Best Bet: Roki Sasaki over 1.5 walks allowed (-174)

The odds probably won’t do much for you at -174 unless you use this pick as a builder in a parlay, but there’s a ton of reason to feel bullish about a cash tonight. Sasaki allowed 15 walks in Spring Training. Now guess how many innings he pitched. Don’t look it up! No, it wasn’t 15-20 as you probably expected. It was 8.2. Again, he gave up 15 walks in 8.2 innings of work. The recent form is capital B Bad. You get it, but for the record, he had a 13.7% BB% last season as well. Command is not his strong suit.

Strong Lean: CLE Guardians +1.5 (-126)

Maybe things get dangerous for Cleveland with a young pitcher out there against such a star-studded lineup, but Los Angeles’ hurler isn’t particularly formidable. After the Guardians competed with the Mariners in their last series with two wins and a cover at +1.5, I like their chances to keep things feisty this evening on the road.

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Cleveland, OH

LeBron James adds Cleveland to list of cities he doesn’t like playing in: ‘And I’m from there’

Published

3 hours ago

April 6, 2026

Press Room

LeBron James adds Cleveland to list of cities he doesn’t like playing in: ‘And I’m from there’

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James made headlines for signaling out Memphis and Milwaukee as places he doesn’t enjoy playing when he was on a golf YouTube video with Bob Does Sports. Those comments — particularly saying he doesn’t enjoy playing in Memphis — made people angry.

“A random f***** Tuesday in Milwaukee,” James said on the YouTube video when talking about life in the NBA. “Staying at the f****** Hyatt at 41 years old. You think I want to do that shit? Being in Memphis on a f****** random ass Thursday? I’m not like the first guy to even talk about it in the NBA. We’re all like, ‘You guys have to move. Go over to Nashville.’”

James was asked to clarify those comments on Saturday. And in the process, he decided to do a drive-by on his hometown.

“41 years old, it’s two cities I do not like playing in right now,” James said on Saturday. “That’s Milwaukee, and that’s Memphis. What is the problem? I don’t like going home either. Shit, and I’m from there.”

James tried to clarify that he wasn’t taking a shot at the city or their people when listing places he doesn’t enjoy going to.

“I’m not talking about the city, like the people in Memphis,” James said. “I don’t like staying at the Hyatt Centric. What’s wrong with that?”

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How much you want to read into him saying he doesn’t enjoy going home to Cleveland for games is up to you. In context, it seemed like he was saying he doesn’t like going to the hotel and traveling there in the winter, as was the case this season when the Lakers made their lone trip to play the Cleveland Cavaliers. However, you could read it another way if you wanted to as well.

What we do know is that James is in the last year of his current contract with Los Angeles. And while things have been working out well for him and the Lakers over the last month, it’s clear that he isn’t the focal point of the franchise anymore. He’s adjusted to that well on the court, taking a tertiary role alongside both Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves when the trio is healthy, which they won’t be heading into the playoffs. Whether or not James wants that to continue to be his reality off the court remains to be seen.

Some of the buzz about James joining the Cavs next season has died down. Even last week, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said that he’s not seeing a return to Cleveland “at the top of the probability list” for James next summer.

That said, it’s difficult to picture James playing anywhere but Cleveland and Los Angeles next season. We’ll see how this all unfolds this summer. A lot can change between now and July.

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Cleveland, OH

Admirals come up short in high-scoring affair, lose 6-5 to Cleveland

Published

15 hours ago

April 5, 2026

Press Room

Admirals come up short in high-scoring affair, lose 6-5 to Cleveland

article

CLEVELAND, Oh. – The Cleveland Monsters used a strong second period and outlasted the Milwaukee Admirals in a 6-5 win on Saturday, April 4, at Rocket Arena.

Game recap

What we know:

The loss spoiled an impressive game by the two newest Admirals players. Forward Aiden Fink, playing his second pro game, recorded four assists. Defenseman Viggo Gustafsson, in his first pro game, scored a goal and added an assist.

Cleveland scored the first goal of the game during a 4-on-3 power play. Luca Marrelli’s one-timer from the left circle found the back of the net at 5:30 of the first period to give the Monsters a 1-0 lead.

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Milwaukee tied the game with a power play goal of its own at 13:50. After whacks at the net front from Isaac Ratcliffe and Fink, Cole O’Hara put the third chance into the goal for his team-leading 17th goal of the campaign. Fink earned his first professional assist in the play.

The Admirals took the lead at 15:31 of the first period. Defenseman Jordan Oesterle sailed a backhander from the middle of the blue line toward the net. Oasiz Wiesblatt tipped the puck past Cleveland’s goalie for his 13th goal of the year. Oesterle and Fink assisted.

Cleveland tied the game at 2-2 when Riley Bezeau scored at 16:34.

Milwaukee’s Gustafsson, in his first American Hockey League game, gave the Admirals a 3-2 lead at 19:54 if the first period with a slap shot from the right point. The goal was the first for the 2024 Third-Round Draft Pick, who is 19 years, 6 months and 22 days old.

Cleveland scored three goals in the second period to take a 5-3 lead into the second intermission. Mikael Pyyhtia scored at 9:50 and again at 13:10. Hudson Fasching scored a goal at 16:06.

Shawn Element brought the Ads within a goal at 13:52 of the third period. Receiving a pass from Fink, Element moved to the slot and backhanded the puck through the legs of Cleveland’s net minder.

Cleveland outshot the Admirals in the second period 16-5. The Monsters outshot the Ads in the game 36-24.

Milwaukee was able to pull within one at 2:52 of the third period when Jake Lucchini tipped an Oesterle shot into the net for his 16th goal of the season. However, just :26 later, Fasching scored from the blue line to give Cleveland a 6-4 lead.

Oesterle is now enjoying a seven-game points streak.

What’s next:

The Admirals will play the fourth game of the five-game road trip at Manitoba on Tuesday, April 7.

Milwaukee returns to UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena on Saturday, April 11 to host Chicago.

The Source: The Milwaukee Admirals sent FOX6 a press release.

Milwaukee AdmiralsSports

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Cleveland, OH

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

Published

1 day ago

April 5, 2026

Press Room

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.