Cleveland Guardians at San Diego Padres 8/23/22 - MLB Picks & Predictions

The Cleveland Guardians will open up a series on the road at Petco Park against the San Diego Padres and you can find out all the other games with our baseball previews. Cleveland split a short, two-game series with the White Sox after dropping game two 2-0, dropped to 64-56, and hold a 1.5-game lead in the AL Central with a couple of weeks left to play. The Padres had a busy deadline, but it hasn’t led to resounding success, they’ve gone 7-10 since the trade deadline but are still in position for an NL Wild Card spot.

The Padres are 15th in the league in scoring offense averaging 4.40 runs per game, but that doesn’t do this team justice. Manny Machado leads the team in all three major categories hitting .302, 22 home runs, and 76 RBIs. Since being traded Josh Bell has struggled hitting just .138 with two home runs but is drawing a lot of walks. While Juan Soto is hitting .286 with 2 home runs and 4 RBIs in the 18 games since the trade deadline.

The right-handed Mike Clevinger will get the ball for the Padres and the lengthy veteran continues to be a solid piece. He’s 4-4 with a 3.63 ERA and 1.21 WHIP, but did have some struggles in his last start when he allowed three runs on six hits and walked four in just 4.1 innings of work. The Padres did battle back to secure a 10-3 win over the Marlins.

Cleveland has been an underwhelming offense this season but is scoring 4.34 runs per game which ranks 16th in scoring offense. Third baseman Jose Ramirez is having another stellar season after signing a 124 million dollar extension this offseason, he’s batting .281 and is fourth in the MLB with 99 RBIs. He also leads the Guardians with 23 home runs. 

The right-handed Aaron Civale will get the start for the Guardians after missing time with a sprained wrist earlier this season. It will be just his third start back in what has been a tough season, he’s just 2-5 with a 5.63 ERA and by far the worst season of his young career. Civale allowed a run on three hits and struck out a season-high 10, and the Guardians beat the Tigers 4-1.