Cleveland Guardians vs Chicago Cubs Prediction & Picks - MLB

Prediction published on 4/4/26, 3:59 PM  by Bill Christy | Modified on 4/4/26 at 11:24 PM in MLB Picks

Shota Imanaga of the Chicago Cubs (3-4) has not been great over his last few starts. He finished last season by allowing 8 runs on 9 hits in 5.2 innings in his last start of the regular season. He then allowed 4 earned in 2.2 innings against the Brewers in the postseason. If that was not bad enough, he began this year with a loss to the Nationals. He walked 2 and allowed 4 runs on 6 hits in 5 innings. His hype has seemingly fell off and Cubs fans are beginning to expect less from him.

Imanaga now must face a Guardians lineup that is top 10 in the league in home runs. Cleveland (5-3) has had a decent start to the season, winning 3 of their last 4 games and looking to have their first winning streak of the season with a win here over Chicago. It has been the starting pitching that has been the strong point for this Guardians team. Gavin Williams tossed 7 innings of scoreless innings to help lead them to the win over the Dodgers on Wednesday, and Joey Cantillo allowed just 1 run on 4 hits through 5.1 innings in the win yesterday over this Cubs team.

Slade Cecconi gets the start here for Cleveland, but he will likely need some run support. He is coming off a rough outing against Seattle in his season debut, where he allowed 6 runs in less than 5 innings. He will look to get back to the form he finished with last season, when he allowed just 6 runs over his last 4 starts.