Two AL Central Division rivals will face off on Thursday afternoon when the Cleveland Guardians travel to Minneapolis, Minnesota, to face the Minnesota Twins at Target Field. The game, which starts at 4:10 PM ET and will air on Bally Sports Great Lakes and the MLB Network, will air at 4:10 PM ET.

The Cleveland Guardians have won their first two series of the 2024 MLB season with a 3-1 series win on the road against the Oakland Athletics and a 2-1 series win on the road against the Seattle Mariners. 

Cleveland is one of the highest-scoring teams in baseball to start the season as they enter this game, averaging seven runs per game, which ranks 5^th in the majors. The Indians have also featured an above-average pitching staff this season, as they are allowing an average of 3 runs per game and have already pitched two shutouts following Wednesday's 8-0 win on the road against the Seattle Mariners. Cleveland has won three of the previous five meetings in the series, including a 2-1 win at home in the last game of their series last season. 

This will be the first divisional series for the Cleveland Guardians this season and will feature the two teams projected to finish 1^st and 2^nd in the division this season when the Guardians travel to face the Minnesota Twins in game one of the series.

The Minnesota Twins won their first series to start the season on the road against the Kansas City Royals 2-1 and are coming off a 1-1 series split on the road against the Milwaukee Brewers. However, Minnesota is even with their opponents on a runs-per-game basis, with both sides averaging 3.6 runs per game. That also includes an outlier game in which they were shutout against the Kansas City Royals 0-11 in Game 3 of their series. 

The Twins are projected to be the AL Central Division champions again after winning the AL Central the previous season. The Minnesota Twins defeated the Guardians six of the 13 times they faced last season and have lost three of the previous five meetings. 

The Twins will look to end that trend when they host the Cleveland Guardians in Game 1 of the series on Thursday afternoon.

On Thursday afternoon, WagerWeb has the Minnesota Twins listed as -156 moneyline favorites at home against the Cleveland Guardians. Cleveland won seven of the 13 games last season and three of the previous five meetings. The Guardians have also won their first two series of the season, while the Twins are coming off a series split against the Milwaukee Brewers.

This weekend's series will be one of the more exciting when the Guardians, who enter the series with a record of 6-2, face the AL Central Division champions from last year, the Minnesota Twins. Cleveland won seven of the 13 meetings last season and will look to continue that trend on Thursday evening. 

I expect one of the highest-scoring teams this season to remain hot, which is why I am taking the moneyline for the Cleveland Guardians when they travel to face the Minnesota Twins on Thursday afternoon.