Cleveland Guardians vs. Minnesota Twins June 22 Betting Preview

AL Central rivals will square off in a fight for the division lead on Tuesday as the Cleveland Guardians (34-28) take on the Minnesota Twins (38-30) in the first of a three-game series. The Twins will host this one at Target Field with first pitch scheduled for 7:40 p.m.

The Guardians have made quite a push in the AL Central and now trail the Twins by just a single game in the division. A win on Tuesday and the two would be tied atop the division standings.

Coming into play Tuesday, the Guardians have won eight of their last 10 games including winning two of three against the Los Angeles Dodgers over the weekend. They enjoyed an off day on Monday after beating L.A. 5-3 in the finale Sunday.

Minnesota did not have quite as much luck over the weekend as they lost two of three to the Arizona Diamondbacks. In the finale on Sunday, they lost 7-1 to Arizona.

Guardians vs. Twins June 21 Betting Odds

The Twins are the favorite in this one playing at home. They are -174 to win while the Guardians’ moneyline sits at +146. The runline features Cleveland +1.5 (-134), and the over/under for total runs is nine.

You can bet on this June 21st Guardians vs. Twins matchup for free in Ohio right now! Sign up for betJACK Training Camp to get started.

Pitching Matchup

The Guardians have not announced their starting pitcher, but it is expected to be righty Aaron Civale. This season, Civale is 2-3 with a 7.84 ERA, 1.52 WHIP, and has 30 strikeouts in 31 innings of work. This will be Civale's return after being sidelined with an injury.

The Twins will counter with 26-year-old Joe Ryan. In nine games, Ryan is 5-3 with a 2.81 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, and has 45 strikeouts in 48 innings of work.

Guardians Need Strong Start

If Aaron Civale does indeed start Tuesday, he will certainly need to improve from the last time he faced Minnesota. On May 13, he went 4.2 innings against the Twins, allowing six earned runs on seven hits and two walks.

Regardless of who takes the mound for Cleveland, they will need a strong start against a Twins team that ranks 14th in the majors in scoring, averaging 4.41 runs per game.

Offensively for Cleveland, Jose Ramirez continues to lead the way. In 226 at bats, he is hitting .305/.397/.642 with a team-leading 16 home runs, 62 runs batted in, and 41 runs scored.

Against Joe Ryan, Ramirez has homered off the righty, but that is his only hit in eight at bats.

Twins Trying To Get Back On Track

Having gone 5-5 in their last 10 games, the Minnesota Twins have seen their divisional lead shrink to just a single game. Still the favorites to win the division (+135), Minnesota will try to expand their lead with this three-game series against Cleveland.

Minnesota has been solid at Target Field this year. While they are just 18-16 on the road, the Twins are 20-14 at home.

Leading the offense for Minnesota is outfielder Byron Buxton. In 189 at bats, Buxton is hitting .233/.315/.582 with a team-leading 19 home runs and 38 runs scored. He also has 33 runs batted in.

The Twins’ biggest free agent signing, Carlos Correa, has also done well when he is on the field. In 181 at bats this season, Correa is hitting .293/.357/.436 with five home runs, 21 runs batted in, and 25 runs scored.

Guardians Try To Make It Seven In A Row

With a big series win over the Dodgers this weekend, the Cleveland Guardians have now won six series in a row and will aim at a seventh starting Tuesday.

With eight of their next 11 games against the Twins, the Guardians have an outstanding opportunity to move into first place in the AL Central if they can continue their strong play.

They have to stay up, though, because any letdowns could see them plummet in the standings as well.

Still, if Cleveland can get enough support from the pitching to contain Twins’ hitters, the Guardians’ offense has shown it is capable of putting up runs.

A win on Tuesday earns them a tie for the division lead, but the Guardians are looking for much more over the next couple weeks.