Cleveland Indians vs. Twins Monday September 6 Betting Preview

AL Central rivals will be on display Monday as the Minnesota Twins (59-77) and the Cleveland Indians (68-66) square off for the first of a four-game series. The Indians will host this one at Progressive Field, and Monday’s first pitch is scheduled for 6:10 pm ET.

Coming into this series, the Twins just finished a three-game series with the Rays over the weekend. After dropping the first two, the Twins were able to salvage the finale with a 6-5 win on Sunday.

Cleveland had an identical series against the Red Sox. They dropped their games on Friday and Saturday, but they won on Sunday 11-5 behind a strong start from Zach Plesac.

The Twins are the favorites on Monday despite playing on the road. They are -120 to win while the Indians’ moneyline sits at +102. The runline features Cleveland +1.5 (-160), and the over/under for total runs is nine.

Pitching Matchup

Minnesota will send righty Bailey Ober (2-2, 3.98 ERA) to the mound for the opener. In his last seven games, Ober is 1-1 with a 2.45 ERA. In his last three games, he has allowed just four runs over 17 innings pitched.

The Indians will counter with lefty Logan Allen. This season, Allen is 1-5 with a 6.62 ERA, 1.42 WHIP, and has 23 strikeouts in 35.1 innings. It has been a tough season for Allen, and in his last seven starts, he is 0-4 with an 8.17 ERA.

By The Numbers

Offensively, these two teams have been pretty similar. The Twins currently rank 16th in scoring averaging 4.51 runs per game. Cleveland comes in one spot later at 17th averaging 4.46 runs.

It is the Indians with the advantage on defense. They rank 15th in scoring defense allowing opponents an average of just 4.53 runs per game. The Twins rank 28th, allowing 5.34 runs per game.

Twins Try To Show They Are Better Than Their Record

Going into the season, many expected that it would be the Minnesota Twins and Chicago White Sox battling it out for the division crown. While the White Sox held their end of the bargain, it has been an absolute shocker that the Twins sit in dead last, 19.5 games back of the division lead.

While the Twins’ shot of a postseason spot are all but gone, they are still out to prove they are better than their 59-77 record.

Leading the way on offense for the Twins is Jorge Polanco. He is hitting .278/.336/.504 and leads the team in home runs (26), runs batted in (82), runs scored (82), and stolen bases (10).

While the Twins don’t have a ton of experience against Allen, they have had some success in the minimal at-bats they do have. In fact, Byron Buxton, Josh Donaldson, and Polanco are a combined four for four with three home runs against the lefty.

Indians Hope To Stay Solid At Home

At 68-66, the Cleveland Indians sit in second place in the AL Central, but they also trail the White Sox by 9.5 games. Still, they and the White Sox are the only two teams in the division to have a home record over .500 (35-30), and they will look to use that advantage to take the opener on Monday against the Twins.

Third baseman Jose Ramirez has been the catalyst for the Indians’ offense this season. Like Polanco of the Twins, he leads the Indians in home runs (32), runs batted in (86), runs scored (90), and stolen bases (20).

Over the last couple of weeks, though, it has been Franmil Reyes and Yu Chang who have been Cleveland’s hottest hitters. In that span, the two have combined for eight home runs and 18 runs batted in.

Indians Need Allen To Be Solid

This one comes down to Logan Allen for whether the Indians have a chance or not. Unfortunately for Cleveland fans, Allen has been brutal as of late. While the Twins have had their own struggles this season, even they can take advantage if Allen’s struggles continue.

While they don’t need Allen to be spectacular, the Indians are at least hoping he can be solid enough to give them a chance. Bailey Ober is far from an ace, and the Indians may be able to put a few runs on the board against him. If they can, the Indians might be able to take this first game as underdogs.