MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (Interstat) — The Cleveland Guardians visit the Miami Marlins on Friday night at loanDepot Park in a matchup of American League contenders, with first-place Miami seeking to extend its lead in the NL East and Cleveland looking to climb above .500.

First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. EDT under clear skies with a game-time temperature of 86 degrees.

Cleveland (48-46) enters after a 5-2 win at Minnesota on Thursday, snapping a two-game skid. Right-hander Gavin Williams (4-2, 3.18 ERA) will start for the Guardians. Williams has been sharp recently, winning his past three starts. He pitched seven innings Thursday against the Twins, allowing two earned runs on three hits with 11 strikeouts. Over his past four outings, he has a 2.91 ERA with 31 strikeouts in 21⅔ innings.

Miami (51-42) owns the best record in the NL East and is coming off a 2-0 shutout of Seattle on Wednesday. Right-hander Tyler Phillips (5-3, 4.01 ERA) will take the mound for the Marlins. Phillips was dominant in his last start, tossing five scoreless innings against the Mariners with three strikeouts. He has been inconsistent, however, allowing five earned runs in 3⅓ innings at on July 3 and eight earned runs in four innings at Philadelphia on June 16.

The Marlins have won four of their past five games and are 9-5 in their last 14. Miami’s offense has been productive, averaging 5.6 runs per game over its last eight contests. Cleveland has lost seven of its last 10 and is 10-15 in its past 25 games.

Interstat’s game simulator projects a 7-4 Marlins victory. Cleveland enters as a slight pregame favorite at -1.5 on the run line, with the over/under set at 7 total runs.

The three-game series continues Saturday and Sunday before both teams head into the All-Star break.