{"id":660273,"date":"2026-04-03T05:06:19","date_gmt":"2026-04-03T05:06:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/660273\/"},"modified":"2026-04-03T05:06:19","modified_gmt":"2026-04-03T05:06:19","slug":"guardians-host-cubs-in-friday-matchup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/660273\/","title":{"rendered":"Guardians Host Cubs in Friday Matchup"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"submission-link-wrapper\"><a href=\"https:\/\/forms.nationaltoday.com\/news?location=Cleveland%2C+OH&amp;city=Cleveland&amp;type=Update+Existing+Story&amp;headline=Guardians+Host+Cubs+in+Friday+Matchup&amp;page=https%3A%2F%2Fnationaltoday.com%2Fus%2Foh%2Fcleveland%2Fnews%2F2026%2F04%2F03%2Fguardians-host-cubs-in-friday-matchup%2F\" class=\"submission-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Got story updates? Submit your updates here. \u203a<\/a><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/69cf32f3b8607.jpg\" alt=\"A visually striking, cubist-inspired painting depicting a baseball game in motion, with the players and field broken down into sharp, overlapping geometric shapes and planes in a vibrant color palette.\" width=\"1344\" height=\"768\" class=\"news-image\"\/>A cubist interpretation of the upcoming clash between the Cubs and Guardians, capturing the dynamic energy of the game through a fragmented, geometric lens.Cleveland Today<\/p>\n<p>The Cleveland Guardians (4-3) will host the Chicago Cubs (3-3) on Friday night at Progressive Field. The Guardians are favored at -196 on the moneyline, while the Cubs are +162 underdogs. The expected starting pitchers are Cade Horton for Chicago and Joey Cantillo for Cleveland.<\/p>\n<p>      Why it matters<\/p>\n<p>This early-season matchup between the Guardians and Cubs features two teams looking to establish themselves in the early going. Cleveland has gotten off to a solid 4-3 start, while the Cubs are trying to bounce back from a 3-3 opening. The outcome of this game could provide an early indication of which team has the upper hand in this interleague clash.<\/p>\n<p>            The details<\/p>\n<p>The Guardians have been led by their pitching staff so far, posting a 3.98 team ERA that ranks 12th in MLB. Their bullpen has been solid, converting 66.7% of save opportunities. Offensively, Cleveland is hitting just .189 as a team but has shown some power with 6 home runs. The Cubs, meanwhile, are hitting .227 as a team and have a 3.50 staff ERA. Cade Horton will take the mound for Chicago, bringing a 2.68 ERA and 101 strikeouts in his MLB career. Joey Cantillo will start for the Guardians, owning a 3.74 career ERA.<\/p>\n<p>      The game is scheduled for Friday, April 3, 2026 at Progressive Field in Cleveland, Ohio.First pitch is set for 7:10 PM local time.<\/p>\n<p>        The players<\/p>\n<p>        Cade Horton<\/p>\n<p>The expected starting pitcher for the Chicago Cubs, Horton has a 2.68 ERA and 101 strikeouts in his MLB career so far.<\/p>\n<p>Joey Cantillo<\/p>\n<p>The expected starting pitcher for the Cleveland Guardians, Cantillo owns a 3.74 career ERA in the majors.<\/p>\n<p>Chicago Cubs<\/p>\n<p>The visiting team, the Cubs are 3-3 on the young season and looking to bounce back against the division-rival Guardians.<\/p>\n<p>Cleveland Guardians<\/p>\n<p>The home team, the Guardians have gotten off to a 4-3 start and will look to defend their home field against the Cubs.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/forms.nationaltoday.com\/news?location=Cleveland%2C+OH&amp;city=Cleveland&amp;type=Upload+Story+Photos&amp;headline=Guardians+Host+Cubs+in+Friday+Matchup&amp;page=https%3A%2F%2Fnationaltoday.com%2Fus%2Foh%2Fcleveland%2Fnews%2F2026%2F04%2F03%2Fguardians-host-cubs-in-friday-matchup%2F\" class=\"submission-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Got photos? Submit your photos here. \u203a<\/a><br \/>\n            What they\u2019re saying<\/p>\n<p class=\"news-quote-quote\">\u201cThis is an important early-season matchup between two teams looking to establish themselves in the standings.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"news-quote-cite\">\u2014 Josh Schonwald, Sports Analyst<\/p>\n<p>            What\u2019s next<\/p>\n<p>The winner of this game will look to build momentum heading into the weekend, while the loser will try to bounce back and even the series on Saturday.<\/p>\n<p>        The takeaway<\/p>\n<p>This interleague clash between the Guardians and Cubs features two teams with different early-season trajectories. Cleveland&#8217;s strong pitching staff will be tested against Chicago&#8217;s improving offense, making for an intriguing matchup to kick off the weekend slate.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Got story updates? Submit your updates here. \u203a A cubist interpretation of the upcoming clash between the Cubs&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":660274,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2399],"tags":[5,138,24,4245,161,4],"class_list":{"0":"post-660273","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-chicago-cubs","8":"tag-baseball","9":"tag-chicago","10":"tag-chicago-cubs","11":"tag-chicagocubs","12":"tag-cubs","13":"tag-mlb"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116339041774519823","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/660273","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=660273"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/660273\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/660274"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=660273"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=660273"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=660273"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}