MLB Baseball
2026-06-08 - New York Yankees at Cleveland Guardians
A Sports Betting Pick by FirstDown
United States : Major League Baseball
Monday 8th June 2026 - Scheduled 6:40pm EST
11:40pm (British Time)
Preview
Last week was a very difficult one on these pages for the Major League Baseball Picks with a number of games being one run the wrong way.
That happens in a long regular season, but it is a new week and an opportunity to bounce back in a positive way.
First up this week is a game that begins another series between the New York Yankees (38-26) and the Cleveland Guardians (37-30) who are two of the early season leaders in the American League.
Injuries have hurt the New York Yankees and the news that Aaron Judge is going to be missing an indefinite amount of time has rocked the team. Manager Aaron Boone is downplaying things and suggesting there is enough talent in the Yankees locker room to give Aaron Judge a reason to return later in the season, but those questions will only be answered by performances on the field.
The Yankees split a two game set with the Boston Red Sox over the weekend, but they dropped two of three home games against the Cleveland Guardians prior to that.
Cleveland have not really backed that up as hoped after losing two of three at the Texas Rangers, but they return home still leading the American League Central.
The Guardians will give the ball to Gavin Williams who has a 9-3 record and 3.20 ERA in thirteen starts made in 2026. One of those came against the New York Yankees last week when Williams gave up three runs in a little over 5 Innings thrown and he was awarded the decision win.
This has improved his career mark to 2-1 with a 4.50 ERA in three starts against New York, while Gavin Williams has won the decision in each of the last four starts having put together a 2.05 ERA for Cleveland.
Countering, the New York Yankees will give the ball to Will Warren who has a 7-1 record and 3.22 ERA in twelve starts this season and the young pitcher is looking to become a strong feature of this Yankees starting rotation, if he is not already.
Will Warren made thirty-three starts in his sophomore season in the Major League and those experiences have helped him begin this year with improved numbers.
He has only allowed more than three runs in one start this season and Will Warren did not allow a single earned run in his last outing. Since allowing six runs in the loss to the Texas Rangers, Will Warren has a 3-0 record in four starts and a 2.78 ERA, while he allowed just two runs in 5 Innings thrown against the Cleveland Guardians in his only previous start against them in 2025.
Prediction
The absence of Aaron Judge is a big blow for the New York Yankees, but they have still found some big moments on the plate and the batting lineup could be worth backing at odds against in this game.
Not many New Yorkers will be tuning into this game to the conclusion, but the Yankees can work behind Will Warren and edge to the victory in this opener against Gavin Williams and the Cleveland Guardians.
The Pick :
Cleveland Guardians 3-4 New York Yankees
