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The Cleveland Guardians enter Thursday’s series opener on the road vs. the Seattle Mariners as the hottest team in the American League, looking to improve their current run of 18-9 in their last 27 games.
Cleveland Guardians (-120, 7.5) vs. Seattle Mariners
The Guardians turn to Triston McKenzie, who has had a tough time keeping the ball in the park on the road. In 13 starts away from Cleveland this season, he’s given up 15 home runs across 83 1/3 innings across.
Behind McKenzie is an offense that has hit 60 of their 96 home runs on the road while posting the third-best road batting average in the American League. Cleveland also leads the league in fewest strikeouts on a per at-bat basis.
The Mariners will look to Marco Gonzales to keep the Guardians off the base paths. He has a 4.08 ERA, a full point lower than his 5.08 fielding independent, and he’s getting just five strikeouts per nine innings.
Opponents have a .342 batting average against Gonzales in his last seven starts, and he has allowed seven home runs in 40 1/3 innings in this span — on par with his over 1.4 home runs per nine innings allowed this season.
The Guardians had to use closer Emmanuel Clase the last two days leading into this series, and with both starting pitchers having their issues with the deep ball, Thursday’s game figures to feature some explosive offense.
The Play: Guardians vs. Mariners Over 7.5
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