The Minnesota Twins and Cleveland Indians are set to begin a weekend series on Friday night at Progressive Field in Cleveland. Today, we give you our Twins vs Indians preview and pick. These two teams have built up a solid rivalry over the years, but this game (and series) feels like a bit of a mismatch.
Minnesota has been one of the worst teams in baseball this season, and it has come as a big surprise to fans and experts around the league. The Twins bring a 15-28 record into this game, and it has not been a good start to the week.
Cleveland is 23-18 on the season, and they are trying to keep pressure on the surging Chicago White Sox. The Indians are just 2.5 games back in the AL Central race, and this could be a good weekend for them to make up some ground.
Twins vs Indians Preview and Pick: Pitching Letting Down Twins
It’s hard to win games in MLB with a bad pitching staff, and Minnesota is figuring that out the hard way this season. The Twins have one of the worst team ERAs in baseball, and that has simply put too much pressure on the offense.
Randy Dobnak will make the start for Minnesota on Friday night, and he has not helped to lower the team ERA for the Twins. Dobnak has gone just 0-3 with an 8.16 ERA to begin the year, and Minnesota might be going to the bullpen early in this one.
The Twins are right around league average in most offensive categories, and there are some big bats in that lineup. Minnesota will need to break out the bats in a big way as they can’t rely on the pitching staff to get outs.
Miguel Sano hit a grand slam for the Twins on Thursday night, and he is a big key for the offense. Veteran Nelson Cruz is also having a big year at the plate, leading the team with 10 home runs and 24 runs batted in.
Twins vs Indians Preview and Pick: Indians Need More Offense
If the Cleveland Indians are going to stay in the playoff race in the AL Central, then they are going to have to find a way to score more runs. Cleveland is one of the worst offensive teams in baseball, but the pitching staff has bailed them out most nights.
Jose Ramirez and Franmil Reyes continue to do most of the damage for the Indians, but this team needs more players to step up. Ramirez leads the team with a .265 batting average to go along with 12 home runs, and Reyes has a team-high 27 runs batted in.
Triston McKenzie makes the start for Cleveland on Friday night, and he is still trying to figure some things out. McKenzie has gone just 1-2 with a 5.79 ERA, and he needs to pitch better to give the Indians a chance.
Twins vs Indians Preview and Pick: Tribe Take Game 1
Minnesota just continues to struggle to play with any consistency, and this team looks like it will be sellers at the trade deadline. The Twins were supposed to be a playoff contender this season, but the pitching staff just lets this team down seemingly every night.
Cleveland has some faults as well, but the offense appears to be starting to figure some things out. The Indians still have work to do, but they are clearly the better team in this game and in this entire series.
Don’t worry about betting the moneyline in this game, but instead, go for the much larger odds. Take the Cleveland Indians -1.5 over the Minnesota Twins as the Tribe roll in the series opener.
Final Score:
Indians 8
Twins 3
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