Zach Thompson gives you a preview, prediction and pick for tonight’s game between the Cleveland Guardians and the Seattle Mariners.

Major League Baseball is back, baby! As the opening weekend continues this Friday, a pair of American League division winners meet in the Pacific Northwest at T-Mobile Park. The Cleveland Guardians surged past the Detroit Tigers to win the AL Central but lost in the first round of the playoffs last year, while the Seattle Mariners cruised to the AL West crown and pushed the Blue Jays to seven games in the ALCS.

On Opening Day, the two teams put on a fireworks display with 10 combined runs on 18 hits, including six home runs. Even though the Mariners out-homered the Guardians, the Guardians scored more runs to claim a 6-2 victory. The Guardians will look to continue to make believers out of everyone who questioned their makeshift offense again this season, while the Mariners look to turn things around and level their record at 1-1.

The 9:40 p.m. ET first pitch will be thrown by Mariners’ hurler George Kirby, while Gavin Williams will make his first start of the season for the Guardians. Both pitchers had strong seasons last year, but both offenses looked ready to provide plenty of power. Let’s break down this matchup with some odds and lines at DraftKings Sportsbook.

Guardians at Mariners prediction, preview

The Mariners made moves this offseason to upgrading their offense, even though they lost big pieces of last year’s team in Eugenio Suarez and Jorge Polanco. They traded for Brendan Donovan and added Rob Refsnyder, also bringing back Josh Naylor, who was a free agent. The starting rotation continues to be the heart of this team, though, with Logan Gilbert, Kirby, Bryan Woo and Luis Castillo joined by Emerson Hancock to start the season with Bryce Miller on the IL.

Kirby started last year on the IL but went 10-8 with a 4.21 ERA once he returned. While he wasn’t quite as dominant overall, he had two strong outings against the Guardians, allowing two runs in five innings and two runs in seven innings in a pair of no-decisions with 11 strikeouts in 12 innings. Kirby had a strong spring and even showed increased velocity in his last couple of outings. He allowed just one run in 5 1/3 innings in his final spring start, reaching 99.7 mph and averaging 97.4 mph. The flamethrower looks ready to roll for the new season.

He’ll go up against a Guardians lineup that struggled to score runs at times last season, but has a few new faces in the mix. Most notably, Chase DeLauter has arrived as a big bat in the corner outfield spot. The 24-year-old first-round pick has a ton of upside and a very high ceiling but has been plagued by injuries throughout his rise to the majors. He made his MLB debut in the playoffs last year and opened his first regular season by going yard twice on Thursday night. He added a single and another run in his big game on Thursday and stayed hot after a blistering 17-for-37 (.459) Spring Training with three home runs.

DeLauter had help on Thursday from Rhys Hoskins, who had three hits in his Guardians debut, and Jose Ramirez, who had two RBI as well. The Guardians racked up 12 hits in all against Logan Gilbert and the Mariners bullpen.

They’ll look to take two in a row from Seattle as they give the ball to 26-year-old righty Gavin Williams. Williams went 12-5 last year with a 3.06 ERA, but his FIP was 4.39 and his hard-hit rate against was in the bottom 20% of qualified pitchers. The Mariners got to Williams for two runs on six hits in four innings in his start against them last June at T-Mobile Park, and he also struggled a bit this spring, giving up 11 runs in 17 2/3 innings.

The Mariners will look to start his regression on Friday after hitting four homers in the opener, but unfortunately for Seattle, all four came with no runners on base. Dominic Canzone had two of the four solo blasts, while Luke Raley and new Mariner Brendan Donovan added dingers of their own. I think the Mariners line up well against Williams, and included them in my top MLB DFS stacks of the day.

Guardians at Mariners pick, best bet

Best Bet: Seattle Mariners -1.5 (+129)

I’m willing to take the Mariners here since I’m confident that they can get to Williams, while Kirby should stop up as the stopper and get the M’s in the win column Friday.

Strong Lean: Chase DeLauter O 1.5 Hits + Runs + RBI (+129)

While I still have my doubts about the Guardians offense as a whole, I’m here for the DeLauter hype train. The lefty has such a smooth swing and so much power potential that even though his team may not put up a ton of runs, I think he’ll be able to pick up multiple HRR after posting an impressive eight HRR in his first regular-season game following his impressive spring.