Baltimore Orioles
Cleveland Guardians
(-110/-110)-105
The Cleveland Guardians and Baltimore Orioles meet for the third game of their series on August 3, 2024, at Progressive Field. Both teams are enjoying strong seasons, with the Guardians currently holding a record of 67-42, while the Orioles sit just behind at 65-46. The Guardians are projected to start Joey Cantillo, who has struggled this season with an ERA of 8.10 over just one start. In contrast, Zach Eflin will take the mound for the Orioles, having recorded a solid 4.11 ERA over 20 starts.
In their previous game on August 2, the Guardians bested the Orioles 8-4, showcasing their potent offense, which ranks 14th overall in MLB. Jose Ramirez has been a critical part of that success, leading the Guardians with 28 home runs and a strong recent performance, including 4 home runs over the last week. Meanwhile, the Orioles boast the 2nd best offense in MLB, led by Gunnar Henderson, who has also hit 28 home runs this season.
Joey Cantillo’s high groundball rate (50 GB%) could work in his favor against the Orioles’ power-heavy lineup, which has hit the most home runs in MLB this season. However, his high walk rate (16.7 BB%) may spell trouble against an Orioles lineup that is not particularly patient at the plate. On the flip side, Eflin’s low strikeout rate (19.3 K%) could give the Guardians an advantage, as they rank 5th in MLB in minimizing strikeouts.
Despite the odds favoring the Orioles with a closing moneyline of -115, projections suggest the Guardians have a slight edge, with a win probability of 53%. Bettors may find value in backing Cleveland, especially given their recent success. The Game Total is set at 8.5 runs, indicating expectations for a competitive matchup.
Baltimore Orioles Insights
- Zach Eflin – Over/Under 3.5 Strikeouts (-145/+110)Among all starters, Zach Eflin’s fastball velocity of 91 mph ranks in the 13th percentile this year.Explain: Velocity is a key component to fastball success in generating strikeouts and preventing runs.
- Colton Cowser – Over/Under 0.5 Total Bases (-175/+135)Colton Cowser may have an advantage against every reliever for the whole game, since the bullpen of the Cleveland Guardians has just 1 same-handed RP.Explain: Hitters perform worse against pitchers of the same handedness (i.e. righty-vs-righty), and being able to avoid those matchups against the bullpen boosts performance and creates hidden edge.
- Anthony Santander – Over/Under 1.5 Total Bases (+125/-160)Anthony Santander pulls many of his flyballs (40.9% — 99th percentile) and sets up very well considering he’ll be hitting them towards MLB’s 3rd-shallowest LF fences in today’s matchup.Explain: This player’s skill set matches up particularly well with the park he’s in today, which may lead to better-than-usual performance.
Cleveland Guardians Insights
- Joey Cantillo – Over/Under 14.5 Pitching Outs (-145/+110)Joey Cantillo has been given a shorter leash than the typical pitcher since the start of last season, throwing 9.2 fewer adjusted pitches-per-game than the average pitcher.Explain: Pitchers with a shorter leash are more likely to get pulled earlier in games and record fewer outs.
- Steven Kwan – Over/Under 1.5 Total Bases (+115/-145)Based on Statcast data, the leading projection system (THE BAT X)’s version of Expected wOBA (.331) implies that Steven Kwan has experienced some positive variance this year with his .377 actual wOBA.Explain: xwOBA uses highly advanced Statcast data to measure a player’s overall hitting ability more accurately than actual wOBA can.
- The Cleveland Guardians (19 K% (per the leading projection system, THE BAT X) are projected to have the 2nd-least strikeout-heavy team of hitters of all teams on the slate today.Explain: THE BAT X analyzes each player in today’s specific lineup to figure out which teams have the least inherent strikeout potential for the opposing pitcher.
Betting Trends
- Cleveland Guardians – Moneyline (-105)The Cleveland Guardians have hit the Moneyline in 58 of their last 95 games (+14.45 Units / 12% ROI)
- Over/Under 8.5 Game Total (-110/-110)The Baltimore Orioles have hit the Game Total Over in 30 of their last 50 games (+11.45 Units / 21% ROI)
- Anthony Santander – Over/Under 0.5 Singles (+120/-155)Anthony Santander has hit the Singles Over in 12 of his last 18 away games (+8.85 Units / 49% ROI)