Athletics vs Guardians Picks and Prediction – 4/19/2024

The Oakland Athletics open a three-game series on the road Friday versus the Cleveland Guardians. Oakland improved to 8-11 following its 6-3 victory over the St Louis Cardinals on Wednesday. Esteury Ruiz hit a home run for the second time in the last three games and the A’s avoided being swept after losing the first two games in their series with St Louis. Oakland is 4th in the American League West but just two games behind first place Texas. Make sure you stay up to date with all the MLB action, with our expert MLB picks.

JJ Bleday is batting .243 to lead Oakland and has a team high 17 hits, while Lawrence Butler is the leader in on-base percentage at .300. Shea Langeliers is the leader in home runs with four and in RBI with nine. Oakland has a team batting average of .209 and slugging percentage of .336. On Friday, the Oakland Athletics will send Joe Boyle to the mound. The right-hander is 1-2 with a 5.68 ERA, 15 Ks and 8 BBs.

The Cleveland Guardians dropped to 12-6 following a 2-0 loss to the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday and will complete a four-game series with the Red Sox on Thursday. The loss snapped a three-game winning streak for the Guardians. Cleveland is first in the American League Central, a half-game ahead of the second place Kansas City Royals.

Steven Kwan is .354 to lead Cleveland and has a team high 29 hits. Josh Naylor is the leader in home runs with four and on-base percentage at .411, while Jose Ramirez is the leader in RBI with 15. Cleveland has a team batting average of .252 and slugging percentage .400. On Friday, the Cleveland Guardians will send Triston McKenzie to the mound. The right-hander is 1-2 with a 6.23 ERA, 5 Ks and 12 BBs.