Cleveland Guardians vs Washington Nationals Prediction 5/6/25 MLB Picks

-Recent Betting trends and streaks involving Cleveland

-Recent Betting trends and streaks involving Washington

-Recent betting trends in games played between Cleveland and Washington

-A summary that ties it all together produces a favorable betting outcome for Today’s Game between the Guardians and Nationals. 

After the rainout on Monday, this is set for a doubleheader. 

Guardians Need These Wins

The Guardians are averaging 3.85 runs per game, while their pitching is giving up 4.53 runs per game. The offense is ranked 21st, while the pitching is ranked 20th. One issue for this team at times has been the bullpen, and that part of the pitching staff is giving up 3.71 hits per game. 

Luis L. Ortiz will start the first game for Cleveland. He has a 2-3 record and an ERA of 4.48. In his last start, he pitched 6.1 innings, giving up three hits and zero runs against the Minnesota Twins. 

Ben Lively, who has a 1-2 record and an ERA of 3.71, will start for the Cleveland Guardians in the second game. In his last start, he pitched 5.2 innings, giving up five hits and zero runs against the Minnesota Twins. 

Why the Guardians Will Beat the Nationals

• The Nationals have lost each of their last seven home games following a road win.
• The Guardians have won 12 of their last 13 games against National League opponents that held a losing record.
• The Nationals have failed to cover the run line in 10 of their last 11 games against American League opponents following a road win.
• The Guardians have covered the run line in eight of their last nine games against National League opponents that held a losing record.
• The Nationals have trailed after 3 innings in each of their last three home games.
• The Nationals have trailed after 5 innings in four of their last five home games.

Nationals Continue to be Inconsistent 

The Nationals are averaging 4.31 runs while their pitching is giving up 5.11 runs per game. The offense is ranked 15th while the pitching is ranked 26th. James Wood has hit nine home runs and driven in 21 RBIs. 

Jake Irvin, who has a 2-1 record and an ERA of 4.01, will start the first game. In his last start, he pitched six innings, giving up eight hits and six runs against the Phillies. 

Brad Lord will start for the Nationals in Game 2. He has a 1-3 record and an ERA of 4.43. In his last start against the Philadelphia Phillies, he pitched five innings, giving up six hits and two runs. 

Total Runs Facts

• Each of the Nationals' last six games against American League opponents have gone UNDER the total runs line.
• Seven of the Guardians' last eight games against NL East opponents have gone UNDER the total runs line.
• The 'Inning 1 UNDER 0.5 runs' market has hit in six of the Nationals' last seven games as home underdogs against AL Central opponents.
• The 'Inning 1 OVER 0.5 runs' market has hit in six of the Guardians' last seven games as road favorites.

Cleveland Guardians vs Washington Nationals Prediction

In all honesty, I don’t really love this first game, and the stronger play is with the second game. That being said, I just don’t have interest in trusting Jake Irvin, and he’s going to really struggle again here. Compare that to Ortiz, who has confidence. The Nationals' offense is going to have another bad game, and Cleveland will get the job done. Don’t bet it big, but the Guardians are the play in the first game. 

This total is too high for the second game. The Nationals' offense isn’t elite, and the Guardians' offense is ranked 21st in the league. Brad Lord, in his last start, went five innings and gave up two runs. I really don’t trust the Guardians' offense, and they are going to really struggle to get any offense going. Lively is coming off a start where he gave up zero runs also and this game is also going to be a dominant start. The under is 5-0 in Lively’s last five starts against the National League East. The under is 8-1 in Lively’s last nine road starts. Back the under to cash her