Twins vs. Guardians (June 27): Will Cleveland close the gap on Minnesota on Monday?

When the Minnesota Twins and Cleveland Guardians met just last week in Minneapolis, the AL Central’s top two teams played three straight one-run games. What is in store for this week’s five-game series in Cleveland?

The Guardians took the first two games last week, rallying in the late innings in both wins to take sole possession of first place in the division for a brief moment.

But Minnesota shut out Cleveland in the finale to ensure that the Guardians only left town with a share of first, and differing weekend results for the two teams mean that the Twins enter this week’s series with a two-game lead atop the Central.

Minnesota Twins vs. Cleveland Guardians Betting Odds and Matchup Information

Matchup Information

• Matchup: Minnesota Twins (41-33, 18-16 away, 1st in the AL Central) vs. Cleveland Guardians (36-32, 16-13 home, 2nd in the AL Central)
• Venue & Location: Progressive Field (Cleveland, Ohio)
• Date: Monday, June 27, 2022
• Game Time: 7:10 p.m. Eastern Time
• TV Broadcast/Streaming Info: Bally Sports North (Twins), Bally Sports Great Lakes (Guardians), MLB Extra Innings/MLB.TV (subscription packages)

Twins vs. Guardians Pitching Matchup

• Minnesota Twins: Sonny Gray (2022: 9 starts, 3-1, 2.53 ERA, 42.2 IP, 46 K/10 BB, 1.03 WHIP, .211 OBA
• Cleveland Guardians: Triston McKenzie (2022: 13 appearances – 12 starts, 4-5, 3.51 ERA, 74.1 IP, 66 K/20 BB, 1.01 WHIP, .204 OBA)

Twins vs. Guardians Odds

Game odds are via BetOnline. Odds from our other top reviewed and recommended sportsbooks may also be featured in this article.

Moneyline

• Minnesota Twins -126
• Cleveland Guardians +108

Over/Under

• OVER 8.5 (-105)
• UNDER 8.5 (-115)

Run Line

• Minnesota Twins -1.5 (+136)
• Cleveland Guardians +1.5 (-164)

McKenzie Unlikely to Repeat Poor Performance in Previous Start

While the Twins overcame being blanked by German Marquez on Friday to take two of three at home against the Colorado Rockies, the Guardians had a rough go of things against the Boston Red Sox, who extended their current win streak to seven with a three-game sweep at Progressive Field.

So, as it stands, Cleveland’s most recent win came last Wednesday, when Gray and McKenzie started in what would be one of the wildest games of the season.

Minnesota scored in each of the first five innings and led 5-1 after four innings, but Cleveland came back to take a 7-6 lead in the 7th. The Twins quickly struck back with a four-spot in the bottom of that inning and took a three-run lead into the ninth, but the Guardians scored four in the top of the ninth to pull off an 11-10 win.

Neither Gray nor McKenzie ended up with a great stat line, with McKenzie coming out worse. Gray allowed four runs (three earned), and eight hits in four-plus innings. McKenzie, meanwhile, allowed a season-high six runs, nine hits, and three homers in 4.1 innings.

Based on what we have seen from McKenzie this season, back-to-back poor starts is highly unlikely.

Wednesday marked just the fourth time this season that he has given up three or more runs. In the starts that followed each of the first three instances, he is 2-0 with a 1.40 ERA and has allowed just three runs, 12 hits, and four walks in 19.1 innings.

Minnesota Twins vs. Cleveland Guardians Prediction and Best Bets

Twins vs. Guardians Prediction: Guardians to win

Twins vs. Guardians Best Bets: Guardians ML (+110 at Bovada Sportsbook, BetUS, MyBookie & BetMGM) & Twins team total under 4.5 runs (-124 at BetOnline)

It will be interesting to see how Cleveland responds to being swept, as it brought their hot streak to a screeching halt. Entering that series, the Guardians had won 17 of 22 games and had won seven straight series.

Given that where they are now still rates as impressive turnaround even after a disappointing weekend, Cleveland shouldn’t be too hung up on it.

Being held to three or fewer runs in each game is certainly a small concern, as they had scored four or more runs in 17 of their previous 23 home games and 16 times in their 17-5 run that preceded the series.

But Cleveland is good value to start the new week and a pivotal series with a win. Expect McKenzie to have a far better evening than he did Wednesday and to continue his trend of excellent bounce-back performances, and for the Guardians to get back into the win column after a tough weekend against Boston.

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