On Thursday, the Cleveland Guardians will visit the Seattle Mariners to commence the 2023 MLB season. First pitch from T-Mobile Park will be at 7:10 p.m. PT. The Mariners are -120 moneyline favorites and the total is 6.5 runs scored.
Cleveland will send Shane Bieber to the mound on Opening Day. The 27-year-old right-hander was 13-8 with a 2.88 ERA and 1.04 WHIP last season, racking up 198 strikeouts in 200 innings pitched. He is 1-2 with a 3.19 ERA and 1.29 WHIP in five career starts versus the Mariners.
Seattle will counter with ace Luis Castillo, who was 8-6 with a 2.99 ERA and 1.08 WHIP last season. The 30-year-old is 1-3 with a 5.04 ERA and 1.38 WHIP in six career starts versus the Guardians.
The Mariners defeated the Guardians in six of seven meetings last year.
Cleveland surprised some by making the playoffs last season but won't be overlooked this year. To make the postseason in consecutive seasons, the Guardians will need to exploit the weak AL Central en route to a division title, as a wild card berth will be hard to come by.
A handful of players will determine Cleveland's success in 2023. Four-time All-Star José Ramírez (.280, 29 HR, and 126 RBIs) headlines the group, followed by Bieber and Andrés Giménez (.297, 17 HR, and 69 RBIs), who was recently extended for seven years and $106 million.
There's no way to hide from this. @CleGuardians baseball is almost here!#ForTheLand | #WayToOpeningDay pic.twitter.com/Irpf7ZVRtu
— Bally Sports Cleveland (@BallySportsCLE) March 28, 2023
A few other players who will make an impact are Steven Kwan, free-agent addition Josh Bell, and Josh Naylor. Triston McKenzie (2.96 ERA, 190K, and 0.95 WHIP) was expected to play an integral role as Cleveland's number-two starting pitcher, but he was just shut down for eight weeks due to a muscle strain. The rotation should be deep enough to stay afloat while he's on the mend, though.
As for Thursday's starter, Bieber looks as fresh and healthy as ever. After spending a good portion of 2022 working on getting comfortable again following shoulder problems, he should be ready to rock and roll. He certainly looked the part of a lead man in spring training, allowing just four runs in five starts with 25 strikeouts and two walks.
No House Advantage: Bet on player over/unders VS THE HOUSE to 21x your bet OR play in PICK 'EM contests against other people! Click here to get a 1st deposit match up to $100 1st w/ promocode WandW!