MLB Picks 8/20 – Cleveland Guardians vs New York Yankees

MLB Picks 8/20 – Cleveland Guardians vs New York Yankees

by Thomas Quaynor for Wannamakeabet.com

Two of the top teams in MLB square off tonight as the Cleveland Guardians (72-52) visit the New York Yankees (73-52) to begin a three-game series at Yankee Stadium. This will be the final regular season series meeting between the clubs. New York took two of three at Cleveland when the teams first met in April. New York has won four of the last five against Cleveland. This series could determine who gets the home field advantage in the American League playoffs.

Cleveland enters tonight’s game reeling after suffering a three-game sweep at the NL Central-leading Milwaukee Brewers over the weekend. In Sunday’s series finale at Milwaukee, the Guardians could only muster two hits in a 2-0 loss. Cleveland only scored one run over their last 19 innings of play in Milwaukee. The Guardians have been streaky of late as their last 20 games has seen them win five straight, then lose seven straight, then win five straight before getting swept at Milwaukee.

New York is coming off a tough 3-2 loss against the Detroit Tigers on Sunday night in the Little League Classic. Yankees closer Clay Holmes blew a save opportunity in the bottom of the ninth inning after giving up a game-tying RBI single to Detroit third baseman Jace Jung with two outs. Holmes has now blown ten saves this year which leads MLB. New York dropped two of three overall in the series against Detroit. The first two games were played in Detroit. 

Tonight’s starters are Matthew Boyd (0-0, 1.69 ERA in 1 start after return from June 2023 Tommy John surgery) for Cleveland and rookie Luis Gil (12-6, 3.25 ERA, 141 K’s in 23 starts) for New York.  

GAME ODDS

Moneyline: Cleveland +136,   New York -162

Run Line: Cleveland +1.5 (-150),   New York -1.5 (+125)

Run Total: over 8.5 (-102)     under 8.5 (-120)

GAME STORYLINES: CLEVELAND

Last season the Cleveland Guardians suffered through a somewhat rare losing season after finishing 76-86. It was their worst record since a 68-94 finish in 2012. Prior to 2023, Cleveland had established themselves as a perennial World Series contender due to winning 90+ games in five of the previous six full seasons and making it to the postseason four times. 

An unexpected “power outage” last season played a big role in the disappointing season as Cleveland’s 124 homers ranked dead last among all MLB teams by a pretty wide margin. Washington was ranked just ahead of Cleveland with 151 homers.

MLB Picks 8/20 – Cleveland Guardians vs New York Yankees

Cleveland has returned to their winning ways in 2024 due to their power numbers being back up to par and excellent pitching. They enter tonight’s game at 72-52 and have had one of the better records in baseball for the entire season. Cleveland has already exceeded last year’s home run total by 18 with 142. Their 3.73 team ERA ranks sixth among all MLB teams.

At the plate, Cleveland is led by superstar third baseman Jose Ramirez. The 31-year-old, six-time All-Star is having an exceptional season as he’s hitting .277 with 32 homers, 100 RBI, 29 steals and 27 doubles across 121 games. He leads the team in virtually every offensive category except batting average. Ramirez’ 29 steals are the most he’s had in 6 years and he’ll achieve the second 30-30 season of his career with one more steal. Ramirez is also well on his way to leading Cleveland in homers for a fifth straight season.

The trio of first baseman Josh Naylor (.245, 27 HR, 89 RBI in 116 games), left fielder Steven Kwan (.316, 13 HR, 36 RBI in 98 games) and catcher David Fry (.266, 12 HR, 42 RBI in 97 games) are all having career years. The 27-year-old Naylor has already shattered his career-high homer mark of 20 and he’s 9 off his career-high mark for RBI. The 26-year-old Kwan is in his third season and will establish career-high in batting average, homers and RBI. The 28-year-old Fry is also having a breakout year in his first full MLB season. He received limited playing time last season. All three guys were named All-Stars this season, Kwan was selected as a starter along with Jose Ramirez.

Starting pitchers Tanner Bibee (10-5, 3.33 ERA, 144:32 K:BB in 24 starts) and Ben Lively (10-8, 3.68 ERA, 98 K’s in 22 starts) along with All-Star closer Emmanual Clase (37 saves, 0.63 ERA, 49 K’s across 58 appearances) lead an outstanding pitching unit for Cleveland. The 25-year-old Bibee has been terrific in year two after an impressive rookie season last year. The 26-year-old lights out closer Clase has recorded 40+ saves in each of the last 2 seasons. His 37 saves this year ranks second amongst closers. Clase was named an All-Star for the third straight season this year.

GAME STORYLINES: NEW YORK

Last season, the immortal New York Yankees became mortal as recurring injuries for stars Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Anthony Rizzo and pitcher Nestor Cortes reduced them to an 82-80 record and a fourth-place finish in the ultra-competitive American League East division. The 82 wins was a 17 game drop off from the 2022 season, and their worst record since 1992. New York also missed the playoffs for the first time since 2016.

The Yankees are back to their dominating ways in 2024 mainly due to the acquisition of 25-year-old superstar Juan Soto during the offseason. The four-time All-Star and World Series champion Soto has been exceptional in his debut season wearing the pinstripes. He’s batting .300 with 34 homers, 87 RBI, 103 runs scored and an MLB-leading 104 walks through 121 games. Soto is two homers away from surpassing his career-high mark of 35 which he set last season with San Diego. 

Superstar slugger Aaron Judge is back to his All-World form after injuries to his right hamstring and right toe caused him to miss 56 games last year. The 6-time All-Star and 2022 AL MVP Judge is hitting .331 with 44 homers, 111 RBI and 102 walks through 123 games. He leads the majors in homers and RBI, and is second in batting average. Judge hit his 300th homer in a 10-2 win at the Chicago White Sox on Aug. 14. He became the fastest player in MLB history to reach the 300-homer mark. Both Soto and Judge were voted in as starters for this year’s All-Star game.MLB Picks 8/20 – Cleveland Guardians vs New York Yankees

After getting off to a blistering 51-24 start, New York hit a rough patch after oft-injured slugger Giancarlo Stanton (.242, 20 HR, 52 RBI in 83 games) went down with a hamstring injury. The Yankees were exposed for not having much production outside of their Big Three – Judge, Soto and Stanton – after Stanton’s injury. New York acquired Miami Marlins talented speedster Jazz Chisolm Jr. prior to the July 30 trade deadline to address the depth issue. After getting off to a torrid start – 4 homers in his first 3 games – with the Yankees, Chisolm suffered a shoulder injury soon after. He was placed on the 10-day injured list and will not be eligible to return until Aug. 24. 

Rookie Luis Gil takes the mound for the Yankees tonight. The 26-year-old Gil got off to a red-hot start this season as he began the year 9-1 with a 2.03 ERA through June 20. He then went ice cold by giving up 16 earned runs over 9.2 innings across his next 3 starts. The Yankees were outscored 34-11 in those starts. Gil has since righted the ship and began to resemble the star he was prior to his three-start slump that started in late June. 

THE PICK: YANKEES (MONEYLINE)

I like the Yankees here as they return home to face a road-weary Cleveland team at home. The Yankees have also had the Guardians number of late. Take the Yankees on the moneyline tonight!

MLB Picks 8/20 – Cleveland Guardians vs New York Yankees