The Cleveland Guardians (76-66) host the Minnesota Twins (72-70) at Progressive Field on Friday to open a five-game series. The Twins are embarking on an eight-game road trip after wrapping up a six-game homestand (3-3). They are coming off a three-game sweep of the Royals, taking the finale 3-2 on Thursday at Target Field. Carlos Correa was 1 for 2 with a solo home run and two walks. Nick Gordon added a home run and two RBIs. The Guardians are kicking off the final series of their nine-game homestand. They were defeated 8-2 by the White Sox on Thursday at Progressive Field. Myles Straw went 3 for 4 with a double and one run.
HEAD-TO-HEAD
The Guardians have won nine of 14 in the season series between the AL Central rivals, including a 4-1 victory in their most recent meeting on Sunday at Target Field. Shane Bieber went 6.1 innings, giving up one run on five hits and striking out seven, to get the win, and James Karinchak struck out the side in the ninth for his second save.
ON THE MOUND
Bailey Ober (1-2, 4.01 ERA) is in line to start for Minnesota. The righty allowed five runs over six innings in his last start, a 5-0 road defeat against the Tigers on June 1. He took the loss, yielding nine hits while striking out four. Ober is making his first appearance against the Guardians this season. Over two starts against the Guardians in 2021, Ober was 0-1 with a 3.60 ERA over 10 innings. He had seven strikeouts and no walk. For Cleveland, RHP Triston McKenzie (10-11, 3.18 ERA) takes the mound. He has made four appearances against the Twins this season, all starts, giving up 16 runs over 24.1 innings (1-2, 5.92) with 21 strikeouts and six walks. In his last start on Saturday, McKenzie got the win on the road against the Twins. He threw seven scoreless innings and gave up six hits, striking out five and walking two in the 6-4 victory.
AT THE PLATE
The Minnesota offense is averaging 4.4 runs per game for the season, with a slash line of .249/.319/.408. Correa leads the team in OPS at .833. The shortstop is slashing .283/.361/.472 with 21 home runs, 58 RBIs, and 63 runs over 118 games. Against righties like McKenzie this season, the Twins have a .730 OPS. Luis Arraez is the team’s strongest hitter against right-handers with a .846 OPS in 384 at-bats. Cleveland is slashing .252/.313/.381 for the season and averaging 4.2 runs per game. Jose Ramirez leads the team with a .881 OPS. The third baseman has 27 home runs, 111 RBIs, and 79 runs scored with a slash line of .279/.354/.527. The Guardians have a .712 OPS against right-handers in 2022. With a .926 OPS over 389 at-bats, Ramirez also has been their best hitter against right-handers.
HOME AND AWAY
Minnesota is 29-38 on the road in 2022, scoring 4.5 runs per game while allowing 4.6 runs. Cleveland has gone 36-31 at Progressive Field this season, averaging 3.9 runs per game while surrendering 4.1. In the last 10 games between the teams at Progressive Field, Minnesota is 6-4 with an average scoreline of 4.8-2.7.
STANDINGS UPDATE
The Guardians lead the AL Central by three games over the White Sox. The Twins are third in the AL Central, four games behind the Guardians. They are sixth in the Wild Card race, seven games out of third.
SportsTips’ MLB Pick:
Cleveland Guardians
Want up to a $1K risk free bet for this pick?
Claim with 
today!
If you need more news, information and predictions, head over to our MLB hub page for all your baseball needs!
*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.
