Minnesota Twins vs. Cleveland Guardians June 27 Betting Preview

Monday starts a five-game series between the top two teams in the AL Central as the Minnesota Twins (41-33) take on the Cleveland Guardians (36-32). The Guardians will host this series at Progressive Field with Monday’s opener scheduled for 7:10 p.m.

Over the weekend, the Twins were able to take two of three from the Rockies, including a 6-3 victory in the finale Sunday. In the win, Byron Buxton went three for three with three runs scored while Max Kepler went two for four with a couple runs batted in.

The Guardians did not have nearly as much luck as they were swept by the Boston Red Sox in three games. On Sunday, they lost the final game 8-3.

Jose Ramirez went three for four, but it wasn’t enough to overcome a poor pitching performance.

Twins vs. Guardians June 27 Betting Odds

Minnesota is the favorite on Monday despite playing on the road. They are -127 to win while the Cleveland’s moneyline sits at +108. The runline features Cleveland +1.5 (-154), and the over/under for total runs is 8.5.

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Guardians Pitching Matchup

Minnesota will turn to veteran righty Sonny Gray Monday. In nine games, he is 3-1 with a 2.53 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, and has struck out 46 in 42.2 innings of work.

Cleveland will counter with righty Triston McKenzie. The 24-year-old is 4-5 in 13 games and has a 3.51 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, and has 66 strikeouts in 74.1 innings. McKenzie was roughed up a bit in his last start, giving up six runs in 4.1 innings to the Twins.

Twins Look For Payback

Last week, when these two squared off at Target Field in Minnesota, the Guardians took two of three from Minnesota. Starting Monday, the Twins are trying to repay the favor as they travel to Cleveland.

After having seen the Guardians take a lead in the AL Central, the Twins strong weekend has propelled them back into first with a two-game lead. They will try to extend that lead over the next five games.

Keep an eye on both Carlos Correa and Gio Urshela in this one. Against McKenzie, they are a combined 6 for 12 with four home runs and five runs batted in. Byron Buxton, Ryan Jeffers, and Max Kepler have also homered off the righty in their careers.

Guardians Have To Play Better At Home

After allowing Boston to come into Progressive Field and sweep them over the weekend, the Guardians’ home record has slipped to just 16-13. As they look to beat the Twins in this series, and hope to reclaim first in the division, they will need to play better at home.

Leading the way for Cleveland’s offense is third baseman Jose Ramirez. In 251 at bats, he is hitting .303/.388/.618 with a team-leading 16 home runs, 63 runs batted in, 45 runs scored, and 12 stolen bases.

Against Gray, Ramirez has struggled a bit hitting just .207 in 29 at bats. While Ramirez has struggled, Austin Hedges has had success. In six at bats, Hedges has two home runs off of the righty.

Josh Naylor and Andres Gimenez have also homered off of Gray.

Can Cleveland Bounce Back?

After winning seven straight series, the Guardians’ streak was abruptly ended as they were swept by a hot Boston team. While it is hard to call any series pivotal in June, this one is as close to being that as possible.

If the Guardians slide continues, they could fall as far back as seven games; however, with a strong showing over the next four days, Cleveland could get right back on top of the AL Central.

Cleveland will have its work cut out for them, but they already showed last week that they are capable of taking a series from the Twins.

On Monday, they will need Triston McKenzie to pitch to his potential, and if he does, Cleveland should be in good shape to start off the series with a win.