Despite dropping the finale of a three-game series against the Tigers on Thursday, the Guardians are still in good position to reach the Major League Baseball postseason for the 15th time in the last 30 years.

The Texas Rangers (80-79) and the Cleveland Guardians (86-73) open a 3-game series Friday. First pitch from Progressive Field is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. ET (MLB Network). Let's analyze BetMGM Sportsbook's MLB odds around the Rangers vs. Guardians odds and make our expert MLB picks and predictions for the best bets.

Progressive Field is the site where the Cleveland Guardians (86-72) will go up against the Texas Rangers (80-78) on Saturday. The odds on this game have Texas at +172 and Cleveland is coming in at -210. The over/under comes in at 8. The pitchers expected to start will be Merrill Kelly and Joey Cantillo.

Slade Cecconi gets the start for the Cleveland Guardians, his 23rd of the season. The 26-year-old is 7-6 with a 4.15 ERA and 106 strikeouts in 128 2/3 innings pitched. His last start came against the Minnesota Twins on Saturday, when the righty threw seven scoreless innings while surrendering two hits.

The Guardians seek a second straight trip to the MLB playoffs. Here's where they sit in the the AL Central Division and AL wild card standings.

The flash crowds of 29,521 and 26,293 for the first two games of the Guardians’ crucial three-game series against the Tigers have certainly helped the cause. Not only have they pushed the attendance to 1,917,049, but the crowds have drawn raves from the Guardians.

The Guardians will now welcome the Texas Rangers to Cleveland for the regular-season-ending weekend series. Texas has already been eliminated from postseason contention and is playing out the string. The Tigers go to Boston next to play a Red Sox team that is in wild card position but has not yet clinched a postseason berth.