Guardians vs Pirates Picks and Prediction – 4/18/2025

Scenic PNC Park will play host to a Friday night MLB interleague clash between the Cleveland Guardians and the Pittsburgh Pirates. Be ready for the baseball season with all of our MLB predictions. The Guardians (9-9) are four games below .500 on the road and trail Detroit by one full game for AL Central Division supremacy. Last night, Cleveland SP Tanner Bibee (1-2) was rocked for six runs in five plus innings during a 6-2 road loss against Baltimore. 

Twenty-six year old righty Luis Ortiz (1-2 6.06 ERA) will take the mound for the Guardians in this matchup. In his last start, Ortiz (5.2 IP) allowed one run and struck out ten batters during a 6-3 home victory versus Kansas City. 

The Pittsburgh Pirates have won six of their first ten home games and are trying to climb out of the NL Central Division cellar. On Thursday, SP Andrew Heaney (1-1) scattered five hits across seven plus innings to lead Pittsburgh to a 1-0 home victory versus Washington. SS Oneil Cruz led off with his fourth long ball of the year to provide the offense for the Pirates (8-12).

The Pirates will counter with twenty-six year old righty Carmen Mlodzinski (1-2 6.23 ERA) on Friday. Last time out, Mlodzinski gave up four runs across four plus frames during a 4-0 road loss against Cincinnati.

Pittsburgh SP Jared Jones (elbow) has been transferred to the 60-day injured list and is eligible to return on July 1st. Through 18 games, Cleveland ranks 18th in OPS and 22nd in runs scored. For the regular season, Pittsburgh ranks 28th in OPS and 25th in runs scored. Take the under. Final Score Prediction, Cleveland Guardians win 4-3.