Cleveland Guardians vs. Toronto Blue Jays August 14 Betting Preview

After splitting the first two games of the series, the Cleveland Guardians (61-52) and Toronto Blue Jays (61-51) will battle it out in the rubber match of this three-game series on Sunday. The Blue Jays will host this one at the Rogers Centre, with the first pitch scheduled for 1:37 pm ET.

After dropping the first game of the series, Toronto bounced back with a 2-1 win on Saturday. 

Offensively, the Blue Jays had two solo home runs to account for their scoring. Matt Chapman hit his 23rd of the season while Teoscar Hernandez hit his 17th.

Andres Gimenez had two hits and a run batted in for the Guardians, but they weren’t able to muster much else as they only had four other hits in the game.

Betting Odds

The Blue Jays are the favorites playing at home Sunday. They are -146 to win while the Guardians’ moneyline sits at +124. The runline features Cleveland +1.5 (-176), and the over/under for total runs sits at 7.5.

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Pitching Matchup

Sunday’s matchup features a battle of veteran aces.

For Cleveland, they will turn to 27-year-old righty Shane Bieber in the finale. In 21 games this season, he is 7-6 with a 3.21 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, and has 134 strikeouts in 131.2 innings. He comes into this one having won three straight and has given up just three runs in his last 20 innings.

The Blue Jays will counter with 31-year-old righty Kevin Gausman. In 21 games, he is 8-8 with a 2.91 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, and has 137 strikeouts in 117.2 innings. At the end of July, he was roughed up by the Cardinals as he gave up five runs in 4.2 innings, but he hasn’t allowed a run in 14 innings since that start.

Guardians Look To Win Road Series

Having won six of their last seven MLB games, the Cleveland Guardians have surged to the top of the AL Central standings. After dropping their first game in a week on Saturday, they will look to bounce back on Sunday and win the road series.

24-year-old rookie Steven Kwan continues to succeed with the Guardians. In 367 at bats this season, he is hitting .297/.374/.392 with three home runs, 29 runs batted in, 58 runs scored, and 11 stolen bases. His emergence has made for the perfect leadoff man for the bigger hitters in the order.

The Guardians have not had a ton of success off of Gausman in their careers. Jose Ramirez is hitting .286 in 14 home runs but has no home runs or runs batted in. Amed Rosario has a home run and four runs batted in, but he is hitting just .143 in seven at bats.

Still, with the team ranking 16th in scoring at 4.36 runs per game, they will hope to get a few runs against the veteran Gausman.

Blue Jays Try To Utilize Home Field Advantage

While Toronto currently sits comfortably in a Wild Card spot, they would love to create some separation in the standings. While they sit in second in the AL East by a healthy margin, a run at the New York Yankees can’t even be ruled out due to their recent struggles.

Focusing on one game at a time, Toronto will look to take advantage of playing at the Rogers Centre, where they are 35-22, to finish out the series on a high note.

Over the last couple of weeks, shortstop Bo Bichette has been red hot for the Blue Jays. In 45 at bats over that span, he is hitting .267/.261/.556 with three home runs, 11 runs batted in, and seven runs scored.

Keep an eye on Whit Merrifield in this one. In 31 at bats versus Shane Bieber, he is hitting .258 with a home run and four runs batted in. Jackie Bradley Jr is the only other Blue Jays’ hitter to have homered off of the righty.

Guardians Ready To Engage In Pitching Duel

It is not surprising to see the over/under set at just 7.5 as two of the best in the game will be battling it out on the mound in Bieber and Gausman. If both of these pitchers are on their game, taking the under 7.5 (-115) could be an enticing bet.

Regardless, as Cleveland looks to keep a hold of the AL Central, every win is important as they head down the stretch over the last third of the season. These are the types of games that teams hope their aces step up for, and if Shane Bieber can keep the Blue Jays’ offense in check, the Guardians should be able to leave Canada with a series win.