Cleveland Guardians vs. Los Angeles Dodgers June 17 Betting Preview

Friday starts an intramural matchup as the Cleveland Guardians (32-27) take on the Los Angeles Dodgers (39-23). Los Angeles will host this one at Dodger Stadium with first pitch scheduled for 10:10 p.m.

Having won five series in a row, the Guardians finished a sweep of the Colorado Rockies on Thursday 4-2.

Cleveland had eight hits including two by Owen Miller. The Guardians were able to finalize the win despite leaving 14 on base.

The Dodgers are also coming off of a sweep after taking down the Angels in two games. They enjoyed the day off on Thursday, but in their last game Wednesday, they won 4-1. Both Will Smith and Trea Turner hit their eighth home runs of the season in the victory.

Guardians vs. Dodgers June 17 Betting Odds

The Dodgers are the heavy favorites in this one playing at home. They are -260 to win while the Guardians’ moneyline sits at +215. The runline features Cleveland +1.5 (+104), and the over/under for total runs is eight.

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Pitching Matchup

Cleveland will send righty Zach Plesac to the mound for the opener. In 11 games, he is 2-4 with a 4.70 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, and he has 43 strikeouts in 61.1 innings. He took a no-decision in his last start after giving up three runs on eight hits against the A’s over six innings.

The Dodgers will counter with future Hall-of-Famer Clayton Kershaw. In six games this season, the 34-year-old Kershaw is 4-1 with a 2.12 ERA, 0.79 WHIP, and has 36 strikeouts in 34 innings.

Cleveland Looks To Stay Hot As Competition Toughens

Coming into play Friday, the Guardians have won eight of their last 10 games. After playing 19 straight games against teams with losing records, the competition gets significantly tougher as they take on the Dodgers. They will try to stay hot against one of the National League’s best.

The Dodgers are the best scoring team in baseball, but the Guardians have been pretty solid, too. They currently sit 10th in the majors averaging 4.67 runs per game.

Leading the offense is third baseman Jose Ramirez. In 222 at bats, he is hitting .306/.399/.649 with 16 home runs, 62 runs batted in, 40 runs scored and 11 stolen bases. He leads the team in all four of those categories.

Dodgers Find Themselves In Unfamiliar Position

After losing six of their last 10, the Dodgers find themselves in an unfamiliar position as they no longer lead the NL West. At 39-23, they sit a half game back of the Padres for the division lead.

Los Angeles has been dominant at home. They are currently 19-10 at Dodger Stadium and will look to add another tally to the win column as they host the Guardians Friday.

Leading the offense is outfielder Mookie Betts. He is hitting .273/.349/.535 with a team-leading 17 home runs and 53 runs scored this season. He also has 40 runs batted in and six stolen bases.

Freddie Freeman (.286, 5 HR, 34 RBI), Trea Turner (.298, 8 HR, 47 RBI, 13 SB), and Will Smith (.244, 8 HR, 29 RBI) are also having strong seasons.

Cleveland Encounters Big Test

With their win on Thursday, the Guardians have now moved within two games of the Minnesota Twins for first in the division. With eight games upcoming in the next couple weeks against the Twins, the Guardians are about to face a tough stretch of games and will be tested to see if they can compete in the AL Central.

The Dodgers have played really well against the AL Central having won 17 of their last 20 games. Still, Cleveland has won seven of their last eight and five of their last six road games.

Especially facing Kershaw, Zach Plesac is going to have to step up his game, but if he can, the Guardians might be able to steal a road game despite being major underdogs.