The Cleveland Guardians (77-66) host the Minnesota Twins (72-71) at Progressive Field on Saturday in a doubleheader. The Guardians lead the series 1-0 after winning 4-3 on Friday, their sixth straight head-to-head victory and 10th in 15 games this season. Trevor Stephan threw one scoreless inning in relief to get the win, and Emmanuel Clase earned his 36th save with a scoreless ninth. Owen Miller went 1 for 2 with one run in the win. Jake Cave was 2 for 4 with a home run and two RBIs for the Twins. Jose Miranda added two doubles and one RBI.
ON THE MOUND
Josh Winder (4-4, 3.77 ERA) is in line for the start for Minnesota in the first game of the doubleheader. The righty faces the Guardians in back-to-back starts. He allowed two runs over four innings on Sunday, a 4-1 home defeat. He took the loss, giving up four hits while striking out four and walking one. Over two previous starts against the Guardians this season, Winder has allowed only two earned runs over 10 innings (1-1, 1.80). He has struck out five and walked two. LHP Konnor Pilkington (1-2, 4.30 ERA) will toe the rubber for Cleveland. He has made one prior start against the Twins this season, giving up four runs over 4.1 innings in a 6-0 home defeat on June 28. He gave up eight hits and walked three, while striking out four in the loss. In his last start on Monday, Pilkington took a no-decision at home against the Angels. He threw five innings and gave up four runs on three hits, striking out three and walking three in the 5-4 win.
AT THE PLATE
Over the last five games, Minnesota has averaged 3.4 runs a game, a small drop compared to their season average of 4.3. Against left-handed pitchers like Pilkington this season, the Twins have a .719 OPS. Carlos Correa is the team’s most productive hitter against left-handers with a .943 OPS in 116 at-bats. Cleveland is averaging only 3.8 runs per game in the last five, down slightly from 4.2 for the season. The Guardians have a .711 OPS against righties in 2022. With a .378 OBP over 391 at-bats, Steven Kwan has their highest on-base percentage against right-handers.
HOME AND AWAY
Minnesota is 29-39 in away games in 2022, scoring 4.5 runs per game while allowing 4.6 runs. Cleveland has gone 37-31 at home this season, averaging 3.9 runs per game while surrendering 4.0. In the last 10 meetings at Progressive Field, each club has won five, though Minnesota has the scoring advantage with an average final margin of 4.3-2.6.
STANDINGS UPDATE
The Guardians lead the AL Central by four games over the White Sox. The Twins are third in the AL Central, five games behind the Guardians. They are sixth in the Wild Card race, seven games out of third.
SportsTips’ MLB Pick:
Cleveland Guardians
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*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.
