Minnesota Twins vs. Cleveland Guardians Prediction, Preview, Picks & Odds - 6/27/200

Time: 7:10 p.m. ET

Venue: Progressive Field, Cleveland, OH

Where to watch: Bally Sports North, Bally Sports Great Lakes

DraftKings: Twins -130, Guardians +110

BetMGM: Twins -130, Guardians +110

Caesars: Twins -130, Guardians +110

Twins: 41-33

Guardians: 36-32

The American League Central is the ultimate beer hockey division right now. Just when you think one team comes around and wants to take over the thing, some other team rolls up and thinks they have a chance in the final after the winning team has had all the beer. So then they fight it out for first place but off in the distance is another team waiting to take down the top two if they can.

Even if we want to throw in the Chicago White Sox now that Tim Anderson is back in the fold, this division right now is just run between the Minnesota Twins and Cleveland Guardians, with the two teams now meeting in a five-game series beginning Monday. The two will have a doubleheader on Tuesday before rounding out the series on Thursday.

It was a tale of two weekends between the top two teams in the AL Central. On one hand, you had the Twins, who came into the weekend trailing the Guardians for first place, but took two of three over the Colorado Rockies despite losing the first game 1-0. It was at least a moment where the Twins gained ground and did some good things at home.

The Guardians, meanwhile, despite winning that series in Minnesota last week, has lost four straight games and is coming off a 3-game sweep at the hands of the red-hot Boston Red Sox, and it wasn’t even close. Boston outscored them 18-8 through the three games and even ended things with an 8-3 loss to Boston.

"On a day when he probably needed a little help we certainly didn't give him much," Guardians manager Terry Francona said of starter Aaron Civale, who allowed three runs, eight hits and three walks in just over four innings. "They don't go outside the strike zone very much and he got in situations with a lot of deep counts, just missing away or in. We had probably four or five plays, some of them aren't errors, but we need to make those plays. So that made it even harder."

I think we prematurely took the Guardians for granted. We look at the lineup and it’s filled with young, talented hitters led by All-Star Jose Ramirez, but the consistency isn’t there. Then we look at the pitching and we wonder if anyone outside of Shane Bieber is ready to take that next step, and I’m not sure if we’ve even gotten to that point.

It’s a weird situation in Cleveland, but this division is so wide open between three teams that it makes you wonder if they can either sustain this, or fall off. And the same questions can be had for the Twins, as well. To go from losing four of five to winning three of four is certainly a flex I don’t think anyone anticipated, but it’s made for interesting television, to be fair.

The Twins completed the series victory with a 6-3 win on Sunday against the Rockies. Byron Buxton had a perfect 3-for-3 day with an RBI triple, and Max Kepler went 2-for-4 with two RBI himself.

"His stride is really something," manager Rocco Baldelli said of Buxton. "Everything he's dealt with, you probably haven't seen it as much as you normally would, but when you see it, it's fun and special. His legs have been a difference maker. Those bases matter."

Sonny Gray will lead the charge for the Twins in this one against Triston McKenzie, one of those young pitchers that must be called upon to win these big games. It starts on Monday.

And I believe that McKenzie will get it done. The Guardians can’t be thrilled with how this weekend ended, but I think the young arm can get the job done. Guardians win 6-4

Twins are 28-17 this season as a favorite.

Twins are 66-79 on the road the past three seasons.

Guardians are 80-59 against division opponents the past three seasons.

Twins:
Luis Arraez (L) 2B
Byron Buxton (R) DH
Carlos Correa (R) SS
Max Kepler (L) RF
Alex Kirilloff (L) 1B
Gio Urshela (R) 3B
Nick Gordon (L) LF
Ryan Jeffers (R) C
Mark Contreras (L) CF
SP - Sonny Gray

Guardians:
Owen Miller (R) 1B
Amed Rosario (R) SS
Jose Ramirez (S) 3B
Franmil Reyes (R) DH
Oscar Gonzalez (R) RF
Andres Gimenez (L) 2B
Ernie Clement (R) LF
Luke Maile (R) C
Myles Straw (R) CF
SP - Triston McKenzie

Batting average: Luis Arraez -- .349

Home runs: Byron Buxton -- 19

RBI: Byron Buxton -- 35

Wins: Joe Ryan -- 6

ERA: Joe Ryan -- 3.20

Batting average: Andres Gimenez -- .318

Home runs: Jose Ramirez -- 16

RBI: Jose Ramirez -- 63

Wins: Cal Quantrill -- 4

ERA: Shane Bieber -- 3.07