Athletics vs Guardians Picks and Prediction – 7/18/2025

The Athletics open a three-game series on the road Friday versus the Cleveland Guardians. The Athletics improved to 41-57 following Sunday’s 6-3 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays in the final game before the All-Star Game break. The A’s have won two straight and four of the last six, but trail first-place Houston in the American League West by 16 games. Keep up to date with all the MLB action with our MLB predictions.

Jacob Wilson is batting .332 with 113 hits and an on-base percentage of .375 to lead the Athletics in each of the three categories. Brent Rooker leads in home runs with 20, and Tyler Soderstrom leads in RBI with 56. The Athletics are batting .249 with a .417 slugging percentage. The A’s have not announced their starting pitcher for Friday's matchup with the Cleveland Guardians.

The Cleveland Guardians look for a third consecutive win on Friday when hosting the Athletics. Cleveland is 46-49 following Sunday’s 6-5 victory over the Chicago White Sox in the final game before the All-Star Game break. Cleveland has won two straight and six of the last seven. The Guardians trail first-place Detroit in the American League Central by 12 games.

Jose Ramirez is batting .295 with 18 home runs, 50 RBI, and an on-base percentage of .363 to lead Cleveland in each of the four categories. Steven Kwan leads in hits with 103. Cleveland is batting .222 with a .366 slugging percentage. On Friday, the Cleveland Guardians will send Slade Cecconi to the mound. The right-hander is 4-4 with a 3.44 ERA, 56 Ks, and 18 BBs.

Cleveland has won six of its last seven overall, and the Guardians have dominated the Athletics, winning each of the last seven at home versus the A's and 12 of the last 14 overall played between the two American League rivals. Cleveland starter Slade Cecconi has allowed just four runs on 11 hits across 13 innings in the last two outings, defeating Houston 4-2 and losing to Detroit 2-1. Final Score Prediction: Cleveland Guardians win 6-3.