Written By: The Persian
The Cleveland Guardians get set to take on the Minnesota Twins in a critical second game of a four-game series Tuesday night inside Progressive Field from Cleveland, Ohio. They toss out the first pitch at 6:40 pm in a big-tome series.
Bookmaker has installed the Twins-125 on the ML.
The Twins have always relied on their pitching, which is one reason they have been one of the best road teams in baseball over the last several seasons. Entering play on Monday night, the Twins were a .500 team on the road. Their team ERA of .422 has put a ton of strain on their offense to bail out their starters.
They will hand the ball over to Zebby Matthews, who sports a record of just 1-3 in six starts this season. He has an ERA of 7.11 and has dropped two out of his last starts. On offense, the Twins play small ball and must manufacture runs in this series.
They are led on offense by veteran slugger and first baseman Carlos Santana, who has hit 22 home runs in his first season with the Twins. He has quietly put forth a very solid career, hitting more than 320 home runs with seven different teams.
The Guardians have a slim lead over the upstart Kansas City Royals in a very competitive AL Central, and they know how huge this series is with a team that will not just go away. The Guardians have a very balanced offense, and their pitching, for the most part this season, has done a decent enough job to not only win games but also keep them in games.
Their offense has a run differential of +81 on the season, and they have several decent bats in their lineup. They are led by veteran third baseman Jose Ramirez, who has had a monster season. He has been one of the better sluggers this season and has hit 35 home runs. He is enjoying an excellent bounce-back year and has also driven in 107 runs. That marks the fourth time he has driven in 100 or more runs in his career.
The Guardians will hand the ball over to Gavin Williams, who takes the mound with a record of 3-9 in the season. He has an ERA of 5.25 and has struck out 69 hitters in 65.1 innings of work.
The game total is eight runs, and it might be worth taking a flyer on and leaning towards the over.
The Guardians are 3-2 in their last five games and 3-2 in their last five games against the spread. They are also 39-39 in their road games against the number. The totals have gone over in just one out of their last five games, and the totals have gone over in 37 out of their last 72 games at home. The Twins are 3-2 in their last five games and 3-2 in their last five games against the spread. They are also 33-41 in their road games against the number. The totals have gone over in five out of their last five games.
