After 27 years in baseball, Junior Betances finally got the call to join Cleveland's major league coaching staff.

The Cleveland Guardians closed out their weekend series with an emphatic 8-2 victory over the Oakland Athletics on Sunday. The win improved Cleveland to 48-50 and marked their eighth victory in the last ten games,

The Cleveland Guardians opened the second half of season with a win. "This is a period of high significance and importance," GM Mike Chernoff said.

Explore trade deadline rumors as the Athletics shop pitchers Jeffrey Springs, JP Sears, and Luis Severino to pitching-hungry contenders.

The Guardians hope to take the series against the Athletics with Steven Kwan still sidelined. Follow along here for updates.

BOTTOM LINE: The Cleveland Guardians take a 1-0 advantage into the next game of the series against the Oakland Athletics. Cleveland has gone 4-3 in home games and 14-6 overall.

Get Athletics vs Guardians baseball betting preview, spread and over/under insights for their matchup on July 20.

The Guardians look to keep their recent streak — which began the week before the All-Star break — going against the Oakland A's at Progressive Field on July 19. After an absolutely brutal June in which the Guardians had the least productive offense in the majors by a wide margin,