MINNESOTA @ CLEVELAND (CLE -112, 7.5)
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TWINS @ GUARDIANS 9/18/24
The Cleveland Guardians take on the Minnesota Twins at Progressive Field tonight. With one of the best records in the American League going into this game, the Guardians hope to close out the season strong and earn the top seed in the AL playoffs. At eight games above .500, the Twins are still in contention for the final Wild Card spot. Clevland is hoping to continue their home winning streak. They have dominated the season series, winning 8 of the previous 10 meetings between these two teams.
Minnesota is currently in the thick of the American League Wild Card competition. It may be too late for the Twins to catch the Royals or Orioles. With a less than ideal schedule, Minnesota knows every night is a golden opportunity as they sit 1.5 games ahead of Detroit. It will be much harder to defeat Cleveland on the road because of their dominance this season. The last thing the Twins want is a couple losses when they have a road series against Boston scheduled this weekend. With just a few games remaining, their dismal 3-7 record over the previous ten games is a major cause for concern.
Bailey Ober will start for MInnesota as he attempts to improve on his previous few outings. In his last five appearances, he has a 5.86 ERA and is 1-4. Ober had been pitching well before the month of August set him back. He’s still 12-7 with a 3.90 ERA on the season.
The Twins have been dealing with injuries for the past few weeks, as they are still without two important players in the lineup in addition to a few pitchers. Carlos Correa and Max Kepler have been placed on the 10-day injured list, which means that two effective bats will not be in the starting lineup tonight. They have the lineup to stay up with the Guardians, hitting .247 as a team and averaging 4.8 runs per game, but they will need both their power and depth to win tonight.
The Guardians are 6-4 over their previous ten games. They have dominated Minnesota this year. Tanner Bibee will start for the home team. Despite having a 4.88 ERA and just a 2-3 record in his previous five games, he has only given up six runs in total in his last three starts in 17 innings pitched. Additionally, he has been racking up strikeouts. In his most recent outing against Tampa Bay saw him punch out nine batters.
The Guardians are dealing with a number of injuries in their rotation, and they will also be without Steven Kwan. Due to fatigue, Steven Kwan has been placed on a 10-day IL. A lineup that is averaging 4.5 runs and 7.9 hits per game while hitting .235 collectively is going to miss its spark plug at the top of the order. There is plenty of power and experience elsewhere, but they haven't played as many righties this season, so facing one could be more difficult.
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Coach Rick Bowe Free Picks
FREE PICK: TWINS-GUARDIANS UNDER 7.5
Steven Kwan is out of the Cleveland lineup and the Guardians have struggled without him. They put up just one run last night. The Guardians are averaging 3.2 runs per game over their last 10. Bailey Ober starts for the Twins. He’s had just two bad starts in his last 10. Ober did give up 5 ER to Cleveland early in the season, but he came back to shut them out in 6 innings in August. Tanner Bibee has had three solid starts in a row. Each of the last two went Under the total. The other was a Push.
FREE PICK: TIGERS-ROYALS F5 UNDER 4.5
These two pitchers should take care of business early. Skubal is almost a lock for the AL Cy Young. Alec Marsh (8-8, 4.52) has been in great form. Over his last five starts, Marsh has allowed 2 ER or less in 4 of them. KC won 4 of those 5 games. Skubal is 17-5-5 on the F5 moneyline and 3 of his last 5 games saw the F5 total go Under. Skubal doesn’t give up a lot of runs and Marsh hasn’t either recently. The Under has cashed in 9 of the last 12 for KC and 5 of the last 6 for Detroit.
FREE PICK: BLUE JAYS-RANGERS UNDER 7.5
Both Cody Bradford and Bowden Francis have been in great form recently. Francis has been a huge surprise. He allowed 1 or fewer earned run in 5 of his last 6 starts. Five of those starts have gone Under the total too. It’s a similar story for Bradford. He’s had one bad start in his 11 on the season. He’s given up 2 ER or less in 4 of his last 6 starts and 5 of those have cashed on the Under.