Awfully tough to sweep a road doubleheader even against a bad team. And we don't even need a win. The Guardians are not one of those bad teams and lost the opener 1-0. The Cubs used their three top relievers so none may be available for Game 2. Starter Shota Imanaga was hit hard in his 2026 debut. Cleveland's Parker Messick was shockingly brilliant in his debut in shutting down the Dodgers.

The hitting conditions are not optimal today in a cold weather environment in Cleveland. We saw that impact the first game of today’s double header, which at post of this write up was 0-0 in the sixth inning. While Imanaga certainly should bounce back from a rough debut, he was prone to the home run ball against the Guardians lineup last season. On four hits allowed, three were home runs. Take the Guardians on the mispriced double header.

Parker Messick vs Shota Imanaga in game two of the doubleheader before the Cubs head off to Tampa Bay. Imanaga was knocked around for four runs in his first outing while Messick was stellar for six innings, but Cleveland's offense has been stagnant to start the year, and the Cubs really have not been much better. Chicago is running a .650 OPS, the Guardians at .603, and each team hitting near .200. Two righties start the afternoon game, while two softer tossing southpaws get this one; that should provide a switch up. It'll feel like 29 degrees on field, with winds cutting across and two formidable bullpens to cut down scoring in the late innings. At this price and to -125 it's worth a bet.