The Seattle Mariners (1-2) host the Cleveland Guardians (2-1) in this season's first edition of Sunday Night Baseball live on Peacock.
The Mariners look to even the score of the four-game series after dropping the first and third matchups. Guardians’ Slade Cecconi (4.09 xFIP in 2025) and Mariners’ Emerson Hancock (4.61 xFIP) are the starting pitcher matchup.
The first pitch of the Guardians vs. Mariners showdown is scheduled for 7:20 p.m. ET, with the Mariners listed as favorites with a 1.61x payout if they win, via PrizePicks Team Picks.
Below, we’ll break down our Guardians vs. Mariners prediction and picks for tonight's game. Make your MLB picks on PrizePicks and earn real money if you’re right, including on game winners, spreads, and totals!
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Guardians vs. Mariners Prediction, Spread, Over/Under
The Guardians are off to a solid 2-1 start following their AL Central title last year.
They made few roster changes from last year. Cleveland signed 1B Rhys Hoskins to a one-year, $1.5 million prove-it deal, per Spotrac, and it called up 2022 first-round pick and top prospect OF Chase DeLauter.
DeLauter has made an immediate impact, homering twice in the Guardians 6-4 season opener win, followed by launching a first-inning home run in Game 2, and he smashed another long bomb in the 10th inning of last night's victory. He joins IF Trevor Story (2016) and OF Kyle Lewis (2019) as the third player in MLB history to homer in the first three games of his career.
Seattle will look to repeat its strong campaign from last year, when it went 90-72 and won the AL West. Its roster is virtually untouched from last year, but it did sign 2B Brendan Donovan away from the St. Louis Cardinals.
Donovan slashed .287/.353/.422 with a 119 wRC+ for the Cardinals in 2025. He will fill the leadoff spot for the Mariners to begin the season. He has also made an immediate impact with 2 extra-base hits in Game 1, 2 walks in Game 2, and 2 more hits in Game 3 of the series.
Guardians vs. Mariners Spread, Over/Under
The Guardians enter Sunday’s game as road underdogs, returning a 2.17x payout on PrizePicks Team Picks if they win outright.
The Mariners are home favorites with a 1.66x payout if they win, via PrizePicks Team Picks, where you can earn money with your picks in 35 states.
- Spread: Mariners -1.5 (2.38x payout)
- Over/Under: 7.5 Runs (1.85x payout on over)
- Game Winner Payout: Guardians 2.17x | Mariners 1.66x
Team Picks data is live at the time of writing and is subject to change.
Guardians vs. Mariners Prediction on Spread – 3/29/26
Here are the key stats to know before locking in your Guardians vs. Mariners MLB prediction on the 1.5-run spread for Sunday, March 29, on PrizePicks.
- Cleveland had an 89-76 (53.9%) run line record last season, the seventh-best record in MLB.
- Seattle, on the flip side, had a run line record of just 76-98-0 (43.7%), the third-worst in the league.
- The Guardians were also a remarkable 52-29-0 (64.2%) ATS on the road last season, the second-best road covering record in MLB.
- The Guardians had the lowest BABIP last year at .268, according to FanGraphs. Could this suggest position regression for the 2026 season?
- Cecconi was a much better pitcher on the road last season, posting a 9.24 K/9 and 3.51 xFIP, compared to 5.81 K/9 and 4.61 xFIP at home.
- Coupling the Guardians' potential BABIP regression with Hancock’s consistently low K/9 (6.03 career), the Guards may consistently put the ball in play vs. a Seattle defense that was barely above league average in defensive efficiency in 2025.
Guardians vs. Mariners Picks for PrizePicks Today: 3/29/26
Here are the top Guardians vs. Mariners picks to target for Sunday, March 29, on PrizePicks. Today’s MLB picks for PrizePicks are headlined by Guardians SP Slade Cecconi and Mariners SP Emerson Hancock.
Guardians SP Slade Cecconi vs. Mariners Projection: 4.5 Strikeouts
- As mentioned, Cecconi was a much better road pitcher last season, striking out over 9 batters per 9 innings on the road, compared to less than 6 at home.
- The Mariners struck out 23.3% of the time in 2025, the seventh-highest rate in the majors.
- So far in 2026, they are striking out 32.1% of the time, fourth-highest in the league.
- All three starting Guardian pitchers have had 5 or more strikeouts in this series.
- Cecconi threw 67 pitches in his last documented spring training start, suggesting he could have an 80- to 85-pitch floor.
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Mariners SP Emerson Hancock vs. Guardians Projection: 14.5 Pitcher Outs (Goblin)
- Hancock maxed out at 74 pitches in spring training, meaning he could be good for 90+ pitches if needed.
- The Mariners may need the extra length from Hancock, even with SP Bryan Woo going six strong last night. Due to last night's game going to extra innings, they were forced to use five arms out of the bullpen.
- Emerson Hancock averages just 16 pitches per inning, which could point to a deep outing.
- The Guardians posted a putrid 85 wRC+ on the road last season, the third-worst in the majors.
- In his only start vs. Cleveland last season, Hancock went 7 strong innings, giving up just 2 hits and 0 runs while striking out 4 batters.
Make Guardians vs. Mariners Picks on PrizePicks
In the final matchup of a four-game series, will the Guardians secure a 3-1 series win, or will the Mariners tie it at 2-2?
You can make Guardians vs. Mariners picks on PrizePicks and PrizePicks Team Picks to earn real money. Just pick MLB players, predict More or Less on their projected stats, and cash in if you’re correct. And with Team Picks, you can make predictions on winners, spreads, and over/unders, now available in 35 states.
Stick around with the Playbook for continued MLB predictions, picks, and news throughout the 2026 season.
