Chicago Cubs vs. Cleveland Guardians Prediction: Can Guardians Complete Sweep Against Jameson Taillon, Cubs?
Chicago Cubs vs. Cleveland Guardians Prediction: Can Guardians Complete Sweep Against Jameson Taillon, Cubs?
The Cubs finish up a series in Cleveland tonight at Progressive Field as they take on the Guardians while they trail the series 0–2. The Guardians have bested them by one run in each of the first two games, which had both been very close nailbiters. Tonight, we have an interesting pitching matchup between former Giants pitcher Alex Cobb and Jameson Taillon.
Cubs vs. Guardians Date, Time and Where to Watch
- Date: August 14, 2024
- Time: 6:40 pm ET
- Where to Watch: MLB Extra Innings
Chicago Cubs vs. Cleveland Guardians Prediction
The Guardians have been one of the best teams in baseball this year and lead the AL Central with a record of 71–49, although the division is getting a lot closer at the top. The Guardians currently hold the best record in baseball along with the Los Angeles Dodgers at 71–49, and they have won four games in a row.
Meanwhile, the Cubs are just below .500 at 59–62 and have been horrible on the road this year with a record of 27–35 away from Wrigley Field.
Tonight, former Giants pitcher Alex Cobb will take the bump first for the Guardians. Cobb had an excellent start to the season in San Francisco, sporting a 3.87 ERA across 28 starts, which prompted the Guardians to take him in a trade at the deadline.
Cobbs' first start did not go as expected, as he gave up four earned runs in 4.2 innings in a 6–3 loss to the Twins. However, his ERA on ESPN is listed at 7.71, which does not tell the whole story of how good he was this year in San Francisco before coming to Cleveland. I think there may have been a few new city jitters for Cobb in his first start which was also against a very Twins team, and we should not draw any conclusions about Cobb given his first start with the Guardians.
Meanwhile, the Guardians will hit off Cubs right-handed pitcher Jameson Taillon First. Taillon has been excellent when pitching at Wrigley Field this year, as he has a 2.56 ERA and 10 starts at home. However, he has struggled mightily on the road this year, sporting a 4.5 ERA in 10 starts. He has also given up a .270 batting average on the road and has given up 10 home runs in just 56 innings away from Wrigley.
Although we will eat a little bit of juice on this play, I love the Guardians to sweep the series and take all three. The Guardians have played excellent baseball at home, sporting a 37–20 record at Progressive Field, and the Cubs have played horrible baseball on the road this year. I expect Alex Cobb to have a bounce-back effort tonight in his second start with the Guardians, and I expect the Guardians bats to tee off on Jameson Taillon. Take the Guardians to sweep the series tonight and extend their lead in the AL Central.
Chicago Cubs vs. Cleveland Guardians Prediction
Pick: Guardians ML -135 Click here to see which sportsbooks have the best odds for this pick
Chicago Cubs vs. Cleveland Guardians System Projections - August 14th
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Article Author
Ben Rajavuori is a handicapper out of Minneapolis, MN. He has been creating sports content for almost four years now and is an expert in all things NFL, MLB, NBA, UFC, and NCAAB. Ben thrives on diving deep into statistics to find the best angle on every bet. You can follow him on Twitter @WeBeatTheSpread.