Guardians vs. Athletics: Game 2 prediction, odds, injuries, and picks

The Cleveland Guardians take on the Athletics on Saturday, for the second of three games taking place at Sutter Health Park, Sacramento, over the weekend. Entering this contest, Cleveland is second in the AL Central with a 37-37 record. The Athletics, meanwhile, are currently 32-46 and bottom of the AL West.

Let's take a look at the odds and how the action might play out on Saturday.

Guardians vs Athletics prediction

Taking the mound for Cleveland is righty Luis Ortiz, who has been decent so far, pitching with a 3-8 record, along with a 4.64 ERA and 81 total strikeouts.

Luis Ortiz in action against the Seattle Mariners - Source: Getty

Offensively, Jose Ramirez, Steven Kwan, Carlos Santana and Kyle Manzardo are enjoying strong seasons for Cleveland.

For the hosts, Mitch Spence makes his latest start. On paper, Spence has fared slightly better than his counterpart, with a 2-1 record, along with a 3.50 ERA and 47 total strikeouts.

At the plate, the likes of Jacob Wilson, Brent Rooker, Lawrence Butler and Tyler Soderstrom are the key players for the Athletics.

Having lost out in the series opener, Cleveland should hit back to even up the series at one apiece on Saturday.

Prediction: Cleveland Guardians 5, Athletics 4

Odds

Money Line: Cleveland Guardians -130, Athletics +110

Run Line: Cleveland -1.5 (+117), Athletics +1.5 (-156)

Total Runs: Over 8.5 (-167), Under 8.5 (+125)

Injury report

Guardians injuries

Will Brennan: 10-day IL (Forearm)
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)
Andrew Walters: 60-day IL (Lat)
Sam Hentges: 60-day IL (Shoulder)

Athletics injuries

Seth Brown: 10-day IL (Elbow)
Miguel Andujar: 10-day IL (Oblique)
Shea Langeliers: 10-day IL (Oblique)
Grant Holman: 15-day IL (Shoulder)
Gunnar Hoglund: 15-day IL (Hip)
Luis Medina: 60-day IL (Elbow)
Jose Leclerc: 60-day IL (Shoulder)
Ken Waldichuk: 60-day IL (Elbow)
Zack Gelof: 60-day IL (Hand)
Brady Basso: 60-day IL (Shoulder)

Expert's picks

The pitching matchup leans slightly in the Athletics' favor in this game. However, having been on the end of a heavy defeat in game one, Cleveland should come into this game motivated to win, and their squad has enough quality to manage that.

Money Line: Cleveland Guardians -130

Run Line: Athletics +1.5 (-156)

Total Runs: Over 8.5 (-167)

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 John Maxwell

Guardians vs. Athletics: Game 2 prediction, odds, injuries, and picks - June 21, 2025