Two teams playing their best baseball of the summer collide in Cleveland, with the Pirates riding a hot streak into the break and the Guardians trying to hold off the White Sox for the AL Central lead.
Bush’s Picks
PITCLE
PITCLE
OverUnder
Best BetGuardians
Cleveland's won 4 straight and is playing at home with a deeper bullpen behind it — that's the profile of a moneyline favorite for a reason. Pittsburgh's own hot streak makes this closer than the records might suggest, but the Guardians have simply been the more complete team over the last two weeks.
Pirates
+Won 3 straight, swept Brewers 14-5 in finale
+Skenes and Ashcraft both named All-Stars
+Front office buying at deadline, bullpen focus
−Skenes winless in his last 9 starts
−Griffin, Rodríguez, Horwitz, Cruz all sidelined
Guardians
+Won 4 straight, swept Marlins on the road
+Tied for first in AL Central
+Bazzana, Messick, Cade Smith all All-Stars
−José Ramírez still out recovering from hamate surgery
−Angel Martinez also sidelined, no margin over White Sox
Pittsburgh brings genuine rotation firepower into this series behind a staff that sent both Paul Skenes and Braxton Ashcraft to the All-Star Game, while Cleveland counters with its own All-Star arm in Parker Messick. Neither club has locked in a starter for Saturday's 4:10 PM ET matinee as of this writing, but both sides are stocked enough on the mound that this figures to be a low-event afternoon rather than a slugfest.
The Guardians have won four straight and just swept Miami on the road, with rookie second baseman Travis Bazzana and All-Star closer Cade Smith fueling a club that's sitting tied for first in the AL Central. That's despite playing without José Ramírez, who's still working back from left hamate surgery — a stretch that's shown Cleveland can win games without its best hitter, even if it caps the offense's ceiling.
Show fees
4:10 PM ET
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PIT Pirates
CLE Guardians
Pittsburgh isn't limping into this series either. The Bucs swept a doubleheader-turned-sweep over Milwaukee to close the first half, capped by a 14-5 blowout, and sit just 2 games back of a National League Wild Card spot. General manager Ben Cherington has already said the Pirates are buyers at the deadline, targeting bullpen help rather than blowing things up — a sign the front office thinks this roster, injuries and all, is worth reinforcing.
Pittsburgh Pirates
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Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
Cleveland Guardians
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Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
Injury report — info via ESPN.
That injury list is the real question mark for Pittsburgh. Konnor Griffin is out until September with a finger issue, catcher Endy Rodríguez and first baseman Spencer Horwitz are both on the shelf, and Oneil Cruz has only just resumed swinging a bat. It's a lineup missing several everyday pieces trying to steal a series in a tough road park against a team that's been rolling.
Pittsburgh Pirates
Jul 17?@ Guardians—
Cleveland Guardians
Jul 17?vs Pirates—
Recent form.
Skenes, for all the All-Star hardware, has scuffled of late — he hasn't won a start in his last nine outings. If Pittsburgh's rotation isn't at its sharpest, the margin for error against a Guardians club playing with this much confidence gets even thinner. Cleveland, meanwhile, just needs to keep doing what's worked: solid defense, timely bullpen work, and enough offense to survive the Ramírez-less stretch until he's back.
