All eyes are now on the MLB for the summer as baseball season takes center stage. For those just now checking in, the Milwaukee Brewers are playing fantastic baseball and are one of the most fun teams in the league. The Cleveland Guardians are also fighting for the top spot in their division with plenty of close games in typical franchise fashion. Today, these teams meet again in Milwaukee after the Brew Crew won the series opener 2-1 last night.

Here’s a betting prediction and pick for tonight’s Guardians vs. Brewers matchup courtesy of MLB odds and lines on DraftKings Sportsbook.

Guardians vs. Brewers prediction, preview

Cleveland Guardians

The Guardians fell to 39-34 after yesterday’s loss but are still live in the AL Central in a tie for the top of the division. However, there will be some difficult weeks ahead without Jose Ramirez, who will miss time with a hand fracture. They’re just 3-7 over their last 10 games, so it’s possible the skid has already begun. The club has a run differential of -4 while averaging 3.97 runs per game, third fewest in baseball. Cleveland’s OPS sits at .685, also third-to-last, with a .231/.316/.369 slash line. Against right-handers like the one the club faces today, the Guardians have a .225/.311/.367 line for an OPS of .678 — the lesser of their lefty/righty splits. The Guardians have just 66 home runs and an ISO of .139 that sits bottom-five, and a .273 BABIP falls fourth-to-last as well. It’s an uninspiring-at-best offense, but an 0.50 BB/K ratio is a quality mark behind a 10.3% BB% and 20.8% K%, both top-10 numbers.

Pitching has been the key for Cleveland all season. Today, RHP Gavin Williams starts with a 9-3 record in his 14 appearances. He has a 3.32 ERA, a 1.10 WHIP and 99 SO in 86.2 IP, bringing higher-end velocity with excellent grades in chase and whiff rate for a 28.7% K%. When he gets hit though, he gets hit hard with marks in the bottom 10% in average exit velo and barrel rate. The bullpen backing him is 11th in ERA at 3.68 and has a 1.27 WHIP with the second-best K-BB% at 17.0%.

Milwaukee Brewers

The Brewers improved to 44-26 yesterday and are now 7-3 over their last 10 contests. The run differential moved up just one tick to +113, but remains second best in the entire MLB. Despite emphasizing small ball, Milwaukee posts 5.31 runs per game and brings a genuinely elite offense to the table. The OPS of .733 sits eighth in the sport on a slash line of .254/.339/.394, also producing a .305 BABIP that ranks third. The Brewers are better vs. right-handers like they’ll face today, slashing .259/.344/.408 in the split with a .751 OPS, too. As mentioned yesterday, this team impresses even without much power — a .140 ISO falls 24th and the club has only 65 home runs. An 0.53 BB/K ratio that paces the MLB (and a 20.6% K% that ranks sixth lowest) make up for the lack of long balls, as does aggressiveness on the basepaths.

RHP Brandon Sproat throws for Milwaukee tonight. He’s 1-4 over 13 games (11 starts) with a 5.70 ERA, 1.48 WHIP and 57 Ks in 60.0 IP. While he brings above-average fastball velocity, almost all of his advanced numbers grade out below league average. The Brewers’ bullpen ranks ninth in ERA at 3.50 with a 1.30 WHIP and 14.7% K-BB%, too.

Guardians vs. Brewers pick, best bet

DraftKings Sportsbook lists the Brewers as -126 Moneyline favorites at home today. The Guardians are plus-money underdogs at +104 odds to win outright with the run total set at just 7.5.

Best Bet: Gavin Williams over 17.5 outs recorded (-125)

The Brew Crew have a stellar offense, but Williams is one heck of a pitcher this year. He’s coming off a couple shaky outings with three earned runs and two homers allowed in each, but he has largely been very good. Williams had a streak of eight straight games of 18 outs or more heading into this June stumble, and he’s gone over this line of 17.5 outs a total of nine times on the year in 14 starts. That’s a really reliable hit rate on the over for this prop line, and he’s actually better on the road this season as well with a 2.64 ERA, 1.04 WHIP and just 34 hits allowed in 44.1 IP. Despite the difficult matchup, I like him to bounce back today, though I think it’s likely his team falls in the end.