The Minnesota Twins (24-20) travel to face off against the Cleveland Guardians (28-17) on Saturday, May 18th. This game will be played at Progressive Field in Cleveland and televised on BSGL. The Guardians are coming off a win in their previous game, while the Twins are looking to get back on track from a loss to the Guardians. First pitch is set for 6:10 ET.
Twins vs Guardians
Cleveland picked up a 3-2 win over the Twins in the most recent game of this series. The Guardians had a two-run 6th inning and scored the game’s go-ahead run in the 8th. As for the Twins, they scored one run in the 7th and added their final run in the 8th.
Triston McKenzie started for the Guardians and picked up the win, going 6 2/3 innings and giving up just one run. He finished the game with five strikeouts but issued four walks. On the other side, Simeon Woods Richardson got the start for the Twins, going 5 1/3 innings and giving up one earned run.
Emmanuel Clase closed things out for the Guardians, picking up the save. He went one inning and gave up one earned run on two hits. Jhoan Duran took the loss for Minnesota out of the bullpen.
Having lost four straight games, the Twins are 24-20 overall and trail the Guardians by 3.5 games in the AL Central. So far, they have gone 12-8 against other teams in the division. Minnesota lost the series opener vs. the Guardians and are 4-6 over their last 10 games.
As the road favorite, the Twins have gone 11-1 this season, and they are 19-9 overall as the favorite. As for their overall record, they are 13-9 on the road compared to an even 11-11 mark at home.
Minnesota has been a strong bet against the run line on the road this season, going 14-8. The Twins are 23-21 overall against the run line and have a run line record of 15-13 when favored. They have an average run margin of 0.3 runs per game this season.
Minnesota’s games have gone under the over/under line in five straight contests. The Twins’ over/under record for the season is 20-23, and their games have averaged 8.7 runs per game. Their games have had an average over/under line of 8 runs per game. When the over/under line is set at 7.5 runs, the Twins have a 5-4 record in those games. Overall, 63.6% of their games have had higher over/under lines than 7.5 runs.
Bailey Ober Gets The Start For The Twins
Right-hander Bailey Ober gets the start for the Twins today as he faces the Guardians on the road. So far this season, he has made eight starts and has a record of 4-1 to go along with a 3.77 ERA. Ober’s WHIP for the season is currently .88. In his last outing, he picked up the win, going 6 1/3 innings and not giving up a run to the Blue Jays. One interesting note is that Ober has a record of 3-1 on the road and an ERA of 12.49 compared to 1-0 with a 2.30 ERA at home.
Twins Offense Breakdown
As a team, the Twins are averaging 4.5 runs per game, which is 14th in the league. While they have been a good home run hitting team, they are batting just .232 as a team, which is 15th in the league. Minnesota’s team on-base percentage of .305 is also below the league average.
Ryan Jeffers comes into the game as the team’s top home run hitter, with 10 long balls, which is 4th in the league. He is also 8th in the MLB with 31 RBIs. However, he has just four hits in his last 24 at-bats. Carlos Santana has also struggled this season, batting just .203, but he has gone 9/32 in his last nine games, including three homers.
Cleveland is 28-17 overall and leads the AL Central by 1.5 games over the Royals. So far, they have gone 8-5 in divisional matchups. The Guardians have been really good at home this year, going 13-6, and they have also been good on the road, sitting at 15-11.
This season, the Guardians have been really good in day games, going 13-3, and they are 18-9 as the favorite this year. As for their time as the underdog, they are 10-8. Cleveland has won two straight at home, and their overall series record is 10-4 this year.
When betting on the Cleveland Guardians’ run line this season, you’ve been better off taking them on the road, as they’re 16-10 against the run line away from Progressive Field. They’re 10-9 against the run line at home, where they’ve been outscored by an average of 0.6 runs per game.
The Cleveland Guardians have gone under the over/under line in their last two games and in three of their last four games. Their games have averaged 5 runs per game over their last five games. The over/under line for today’s game is 7.5 runs. The Guardians have gone over the over/under line in 9 of their 11 games with a 7.5 over/under line this season. Their games have averaged 8.3 runs per game this season.
Logan Allen Gets The Start For The Guardians
Left-hander Logan Allen gets the start for the Guardians today as he faces the Twins at home. So far this season, he has made nine starts and has a record of 4-2 with an ERA of 5.56. Allen’s WHIP for the season is currently 1.50. In his last outing, he didn’t give up a run in six innings of work, picking up the win in the process. Before that, he had given up at least two earned runs in four straight starts. Allen has a batting average allowed of .283 and has issued 2.98 walks per nine innings compared to 7.15 strikeouts.
Guardians Offense Breakdown
Josh Naylor and José Ramírez have been the top power threats for the Guardians this season, as Naylor’s 12 homers is 2nd in the league and Ramírez has gone deep 10 times. Ramírez is also 2nd on the team with 38 RBIs, while his 9/34 batting line over his last nine games is pretty solid. Naylor is looking to get back on track, as he has just six hits in his last 33 at-bats.
Steven Kwan has been a great surprise for the Guardians so far, as he is batting .353 for the season and has gone deep three times. Over his last eight games, David Fry has three homers and is hitting .364. Fry also has six runs scored in that stretch.
Twins vs Guardians Prediction
Our pick for this Twins vs. Guardians matchup is to take the Guardians on the money line, with the payout currently sitting at -105. We actually have the Guardians winning this game 6-5, which would put the over/under line at 7.5 runs right on the money.
Looking at the starting pitchers, Logan Allen is projected to finish with four strikeouts, which would have him finishing fifth in the league among starters. As for Bailey Ober, his projection of five strikeouts would have him finishing 17th.
All odds are courtesy of Action247 Sportsbook. Good luck!!
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Last updated:May 18, 2024 Guardians, Twins