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Predictions

Pittsburgh Pirates at Cleveland Guardians Game 2

By Bush StaffUpdated 35d ago·2 min read
Pittsburgh PiratesPIT(50-47)
Cleveland GuardiansCLE(51-46)
AT
7:10 PM ET
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FINAL
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ML
Total
Pirates(50-47)
PWWWP
Guardians(51-46)
PWWWW
Best BetGuardians -105

Cleveland's won 4 of its last 5 and is getting a callup arm working behind an offense and bullpen that have carried this stretch. The Guardians are the side with real season momentum here even without Ramirez, and Pittsburgh still hasn't sorted out who's even throwing tonight.

Pirates
  • Won 3 of last 5, road offense heating up
  • Jared Jones flashed perfect-inning form July 8
  • Skenes, Ashcraft both made NL All-Star team
  • Cruz, Rodriguez, Horwitz, Griffin all sidelined
  • No Game 2 starter announced at all
  • Playing second game of a road doubleheader
Guardians
  • Won 4 of last 5 entering this series
  • Bullpen has carried the club through the stretch
  • Playing at home in front of their crowd
  • Jose Ramirez, top hitter, still out with hand injury
  • Emergency call-up Logan Allen making spot start
  • Angel Martinez also out, lineup shuffled

Cleveland didn't plan on needing a fourth starter this weekend, but Tanner Bibee's shoulder trouble has left a hole, and the Guardians are plugging it by calling Logan Allen up from Triple-A Columbus for the nightcap. The Pirates haven't named a Game 2 starter at all, with Jared Jones and Paul Skenes already spoken for on either side of this one, leaving Pittsburgh to figure out the middle game on the fly.

Pittsburgh Pirates
Mason Montgomery
(4-3)·3.80 ERA
Jun 7 @ Braves
ND
1.0IP
0ER
2K
2BB
25P
Cleveland Guardians
Logan Allen
(0-0)·2.45 ERA

Whoever takes the ball for Pittsburgh is working behind a lineup that's been shorthanded for weeks. Oneil Cruz, Endy Rodriguez and Spencer Horwitz are all out, and Konnor Griffin's finger injury just landed him on the 60-day IL. Cleveland's not full strength either — Jose Ramirez, the engine of that offense, is still working his way back from a hand injury — but the Guardians have found a way to keep winning without him.

That's the story of Cleveland's last two weeks: reeling off four straight wins before Friday's postponement, doing it with pitching depth and timely hitting rather than one guy carrying the load. Pittsburgh's push back to .500 has been real too, powered by a run of one-sided wins over Milwaukee, but tonight is a different animal — a true road atmosphere against a team that's playing its best baseball of the summer.

Pittsburgh Pirates
Pittsburgh Pirates
(50-47)
Jul 17P@ Guardians0-0
Jul 12Wvs Brewers14-5
Jul 11Wvs Brewers3-2
Jul 11Wvs Brewers7-6
Jul 10Pvs Brewers0-0
Cleveland Guardians
Cleveland Guardians
(51-46)
Jul 17Pvs Pirates0-0
Jul 12W@ Marlins5-2
Jul 11W@ Marlins4-1
Jul 10W@ Marlins3-2
Jul 9W@ Twins5-2

Jones flashed some of his 2024 rookie form with six perfect innings against Atlanta on July 8, still on a pitch count as he works back from elbow surgery — a reminder the Pirates' rotation is deep and talented even while it's short a name for tonight. Skenes and Ashcraft both made the NL All-Star team, which tells you where this staff is trending, but neither pitches in this game.

Pittsburgh Pirates
Pittsburgh Pirates
(7)
  • 10-Day-ILEndy Rodriguez (C) — Rodriguez (hip) is out of the lineup for Tuesday's game versus Atlanta.07/08
  • 10-Day-ILSpencer Horwitz (1B) — Horwitz (hamstring) has begun a running program at the Pirates' spring training complex in Florida, Alex Stumpf of MLB.com reports.07/07
  • 10-Day-ILOneil Cruz (CF) — Cruz (hand) has resumed swinging a bat, Alex Stumpf of MLB.com reports.07/07
  • 15-Day-ILWilber Dotel (RP) — Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said Sunday that Dotel (lat) will make another rehab appearance with a minor-league affiliate Tuesday, Colin Beazley of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.07/06
  • 15-Day-ILEvan Sisk (RP) — Sisk was placed on the 15-day injured list Saturday with left elbow inflammation, Colin Beazley of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.07/04
  • 60-Day-ILKonnor Griffin (SS) — The Pirates transferred Griffin (finger) to the 60-day injured list Saturday, Alex Stumpf of MLB.com reports.07/11
  • 60-Day-ILChris Devenski (RP) — Devenski (illness) was transferred from the 15-day IL to the 60-day IL on Sunday.06/07
Cleveland Guardians
Cleveland Guardians
(3)
  • 10-Day-ILAngel Martinez (LF) — Martinez (foot) will begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Columbus on Friday, Tim Stebbins of MLB.com reports.07/17
  • 10-Day-ILJose Ramirez (3B) — Ramirez (hand) has been hitting off a tee and is expected to face overhand pitching soon, Tim Stebbins of MLB.com reports.07/05
  • 15-Day-ILTim Herrin (RP) — X-rays on Herrin's left elbow came back negative following his removal from Wednesday's game against Minnesota, Zack Meisel of The Athletic reports.07/09

Both clubs are banged up in spots that matter, which makes the emergency-starter angle for Cleveland the real swing factor here. Allen gets thrown into a big spot on no real buildup, and how he holds up against a lineup that's still finding ways to score without its full complement of hitters will say a lot about how this doubleheader nightcap plays out.

Sources

MLBPittsburgh PiratesCleveland GuardiansPolymarketKalshiMason MontgomeryLogan Allen