TST Best Bets: August 26, 2026
Nick Wire
Host · Writer
The Los Angeles Angels wrap up the three-game series against the Cleveland Guardians tonight.
The Guardians took the first two games of the series in two completely different ways. In game one, they won a pitchers’ duel led by Parker Messick. In game two, they came back from a 5-0 deficit and won in 10 innings, 8-6.
Steven Kwan and Jose Ramirez led the Guardians in their comeback victory last night. Kwan had five hits, three runs and an RBI and Ramirez drove in five. In 65 career games against the Angels, Ramirez has a .295 average with 69 hits and 52 RBIs.
Grayson Rodriguez is projected to start for the Angels against the Guardians. Rodriguez is coming off his best start of the year, a seven inning gem in which he didn’t allow an earned run against the Houston Astros. Despite having a 6.41 ERA on the year, Rodriguez’ performance in August is a trend in the right direction Through four starts this month, Rodriguez holds a 3.27 ERA.
Joey Cantillo will start for the Guardians opposite Rodriguez. Cantillo is 9-7 with a 3.73 ERA this season. Cantillo has also found his stride in the month of August, sporting a 2.70 ERA through his four appearances.
In his lone start against the Angels back on May 11, Cantillo threw six scoreless innings while allowing only five hits. The Guardians won that matchup, 7-2.
First Pick: Jose Ramirez over 0.5 singles
Rundown: Grayson Rodriguez is the Angels’ biggest wild card on the mound. He’s coming off his best pitching outing of the season, but he’s prone to giving up runs early. His August slate has been his best so far – but that’s still not without some hiccups. In two of his starts he went seven innings and allowed two earned runs total. In the other two, he went four innings apiece and allowed three earned runs in each.
All that to say – the version of Rodriguez we get is no guarantee. However, Ramirez has been an “Angel Killer” his entire career. As stated before, he holds a .295 batting average and 21 home runs in 65 games against the Angels. Take a quick glance at his game log and he has hits in seven of his last nine games.
Second Pick: Cleveland Guardians (-1.5) over the Los Angeles Angels
Rundown: The Guardians beat Klassen and Ureña, two of the Angels’ promising young pitchers, in the first two games of the series. After executing the comeback win in extra innings last night, the Guardians stole the series and drained the Angels’ bullpen. They have the more consistent pitcher on the mound tonight as well. This series finale feels like a wash for the Angels.
