Astros vs Guardians: Game 1 prediction, odds, injuries and picks

AL West's Houston Astros take on AL Central hopefuls the Cleveland Guardians on Friday in the opener of a three-game series at Progressive Field.

The Astros boast a 34-28 record, enough to give them the top spot in their division. The Guardians are not far behind in terms of their record, with 33-28, but find themselves third, behind the Detroit Tigers and Minnesota Twins.

Let's take a look at the odds for Friday's matchup and how the action might play out on the field.

Astros vs Guardians prediction

Taking the mound for Houston is lefty Colton Gordon, who is pitching with a 0-1 record, a 5.95 ERA and 20 total strikeouts in his rookie season. In his most recent game, Gordon struggled, giving up four earned runs in five innings against the Tampa Bay Rays.

With the bat, Jeremy Pena, Jose Altuve, Jake Meyers and Isaac Paredes are the players to keep an eye on for the visitors.

For the hosts, another lefty, Logan Allen, gets the nod to start. On paper, Allen has fared better than his counterpart, with a 3-3 record, along with a 4.22 ERA and 38 total strikeouts.

From a hitting standpoint, Jose Ramirez, Steven Kwan, Kyle Manzardo and Carlos Santana have led the way for the Guardians.

Though both teams boast near-identical records for the season prior to this fixture, the Guardians should be able to nick this one in front of their home support.

Prediction: Houston Astros 5, Cleveland Guardians 6

Odds

Money Line: Houston Astros -125, Cleveland Guardians +106

Run Line: Houston +1.5 (-278), Cleveland -1.5 (+195)

Total Runs: Over 8.5 (-111), Under 8.5 (-119)

Injury report

Astros injuries:

Chas McCormick: 10-day IL (Oblique)
Zach Dezenzo: 10-day IL (Hand)
Taylor Trammell: 10-day IL (Calf)
Yordan Alvarez: 10-day IL (Hand)
Pedro Leon: 10-day IL (Knee)
Spencer Arrighetti: 15-day IL (Thumb)
Ronel Blanco: 60-day IL (Elbow)
J.P. France: 60-day IL (Shoulder)
Cristian Javier: 60-day IL (Elbow)
Hayden Wesneski: 60-day IL (Elbow)
Luis Garcia: 60-day IL (Elbow)

Guardians injury:

Lane Thomas: 10-day IL (Foot)
Will Brennan: 10-day IL (Forearm)
Andrew Walters: 15-day IL (Lat)
Paul Sewald: 15-day IL (Shoulder)
Shane Bieber: 60-day IL (Elbow)
Erik Sabrowski: 60-day IL (Elbow)
Ben Lively: 60-day IL (Forearm)
John Means: 60-day IL (Elbow)
Trevor Stephan: 60-day IL (Elbow)
Sam Hentges: 60-day IL (Shoulder)

Expert picks

Playing at home, where they are usually quite tough to beat, and with the pitching matchup leaning slightly in their favor, the Cleveland Guardians should be able to register an important win on Friday.

Money Line: Cleveland Guardians +106

Run Line: Houston +1.5 (-278)

Total Runs: Over 8.5 (-111)

About the author

Raghav Mehta is a baseball journalist at Sportskeeda awaiting results for a Bachelor's in Journalism from Delhi University. He enjoys highlighting the key battles between players at different stages of the game and analyzing the decisive moments upon which they hinge.

One of Raghav's favorite moments, which underscores this, was the Shohei Ohtani vs. Mike Trout clash in the 2023 WBC, where two of baseball's best players faced off against each other in the 9th inning. With the score 3-2 to Japan, Shohei eventually got the strikeout, which was absolute cinema.

Raghav is a Baltimore Orioles fan and is enjoying watching such an exciting young team compete at the top in a very competitive division.

Raghav has loved watching sports for as long as he can remember and realized he was pretty decent at writing his thoughts down at around the age of 14. Combining the two meant he had something he would enjoy doing every day, and he had identified that well before going to college.

Aside from work, Raghav enjoys playing sports, working out and watching movies.

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Edited by Ribin Peter

Astros vs Guardians: Game 1 prediction, odds, injuries and picks - June 6, 2025