Guardians vs. Nationals prediction and odds for Friday, April 14 (Quantrill bounces back)

It’s been a rough start to the 2023 season for Cleveland Guardians starter Cal Quantrill (0-1, 6.52 ERA), but he has a favorable matchup on the road on Friday. 

The Guardians begin a series with the Washington Nationals, who are just 4-9 on the season and have one of the worst offenses in baseball. 

Trevor Williams (1-1, 4.35 ERA) gets the ball for Washington in this game, and while he’s in the 92nd percentile in hard hit percentage this season, his expected ERA ranks in just the 35th percentile. 

Cleveland would love to sweep the Nats, but it starts with getting a win on Friday. Here’s a look at the latest odds and my best bet for this game: 

Guardians vs. Nationals odds, run line and total

Guardians vs. Nationals prediction and pick

Quantrill has been knocked around, allowing 15 hits over his first two starts of the 2023 season. 

Still, he ranks ahead of Williams in expected ERA (38th percentile) and has produced solid numbers in terms of average exit velocity and hard hit percentage against. 

The Nationals aren’t a team that’s going to do much damage offensively, as the team is 28th in OPS and 27th in runs scored so far this season. 

The total in this game is set at 9.5, which tells me oddsmakers expect this to be a relatively high-scoring game, but I don’t see Washington having an offensive explosion, even against a struggling Quantrill. 

I’ll back the Guardians to take the opening game of this series. 

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.