Mets vs. Guardians Prediction, Odds and Best Bets for Tuesday

The New York Mets (47-66) and Cleveland Guardians (57-56) meet at Progressive Field in Cleveland at 6:40 p.m. ET on Tuesday in the opener of a three-game interleague series.

New York head into the series in a tailspin after dropping the final three contests in a four-game series at home against the Miami Marlins, while totaling just four runs in those setbacks. In fact, offensive struggles aren’t a new thing to the Mets, as they’ve managed to plate just 11 runs in the past six outings, or 1.8 runs per game (RPG).

Cleveland hasn’t exactly been killing it, either. It salvaged the interleague series finale against the Arizona Diamondbacks Sunday, 5-0, but it dropped two of the first three in the series, while going just 3-7 across the past 10 outings.

It has been shut out in three of the past eight games, and it has one or no runs in five of the past 10 contests, prompting Cleveland’s management to do something. It added OF Jo Adell from the Los Angeles Angels to provide some pop, while also bolstering the defense on the corners.

These teams meet rather infrequently, but Cleveland has won six consecutive meetings in the series, including four in a row as an underdog dating back to May 22, 2024. The Under is 4-2-1 in the past seven in this series as well.

Cleveland rolls out LHP Joey Cantillo (8-6, 3.88 ERA, 1.45 WHIP) for this series opener. He has a 3.48 ERA across his past seven outings, too, although the walks have been up slightly. He also has 48 K across just 33 ⅔ IP, though, so he has been able to wiggle out of trouble with his solid fastball.

New York counters with LHP Sean Manaea (2-5, 4.42 ERA, 1.34 WHIP). He is just 1-3 with a 4.10 ERA and 1.34 WHIP, but like Cantillo, he can work himself out of tight spots with his solid fastball and strikeout ability. He has 88 K in 91 ⅔ IP overall this season.

The Guardians have handled the twig well against southpaws, and a big reason they’re in the wild-card hunt and adding pieces at the trade deadline is due to the fact they’re 22-16 vs. LHP this season. They’ve posted more wins vs. lefties than any other AL Central team, while tying for the second-most wins in the AL vs. LHP.

The Mets haven’t been as fortunate against southpaws, going a dismal 8-21 vs. LHP, while managing a 13-14 record in interleague play and a 22-32 mark on the road this season.

We’re going to side with the GUARDIANS (-150) as moderate favorites on the moneyline, as they look to continue their dominance in this series. And, let’s roll with the UNDER 7.5 (+100) at even-money, as both the Guardians and Mets have been scuffling at the plate.