Cleveland Guardians vs. Washington Nationals April 14 Betting Preview

This season for the first time ever, each MLB team will play every other MLB team in season-long interleague play. An example of that is the Cleveland Guardians (7-6) heading on the road for a weekend series against the Washington Nationals (4-9). RHP Cal Quantrill (0-1, 6.52) takes the ball for the Guardians against Nationals RHP Trevor Williams (1-1, 4.35)

Friday’s series opener at Nationals Park in Washington D.C. starts at 7:05 p.m. and airs locally in both markets. The series concludes with day games on Saturday and Sunday before the Guardians move onto Detroit. 

Cleveland’s Offense Behind The Pitching

The Guardians are 7-6 on the young season and they are just 2-4 in the last six games. The offense can be blamed for the last week as they have scored more than three runs just once since April 5. That game was a 7-6 win in 12 innings and four of their last five wins have come in extra innings. 

Cleveland is the only team in the American League with both a winning record and a negative run differential so far this season. They have already played seven games decided by one run, posting a 4-3 record in such games. Cleveland is also 5-2 on the road this season.

The offense ranks last in the AL with six home runs, 12th in batting average, 11th in runs scored and 13th in slugging percentage. The two bright spots are that Cleveland leads the AL in walks and stolen bases. 

Mike Zunino, Andres Gimenez and Myles Straw are all batting .309 and Josh Naylor leads the team with two homers and nine RBI. Josh Bell is slumping with a .109 average while Amed Rosario, Oscar Gonzalez and Naylor are all batting under .210

Quantrill Looking To Bounce Back

Quantrill had a very strong 2022 season with a 15-5 record and a 3.38 ERA in 32 starts. This season he has faced Seattle in both of his starts, allowing seven earned runs on 15 hits over 9 ⅔ innings while striking out six and walking three. 

Quantrill has never faced the Nationals but they could be just what he needs to get back on track. Washington ranks dead last in the National League in home runs (5), slugging and OPS while ranking 14th in runs scored and total bases. 

Only Victor Robles, Lane Thomas and Dominic Smith are batting over .240 for the Nats and Jeimer Candelario is the only player with more than one home run. Washington also has twice as many strikeouts as walks and though Quantrill isn’t a power pitcher, he should be able to miss some bats on Friday.  

Betting Analysis

The Guardians are favored at -155 on the money line and -1.5 (+110) on the run line. The Nats are home underdogs at +130 and +1.5 (-130) on the run line.

These teams haven’t met since 2019 and the rosters are completely different on both sides. Washington is just 1-5 against RHP this season and Cleveland definitely has the starting pitching advantage on Friday. Neither team is going to knock the ball out of the park, but Cleevland should get a win to open the series.