Cleveland Guardians vs. Minnesota Twins Prediction: Can Jose Ramirez and the Guardians Jump on Devin Smeltzer?

Cleveland Guardians vs. Minnesota Twins Prediction: Can Jose Ramirez and the Guardians Jump on Devin Smeltzer?

Guardians vs. Twins Start Time, Where to Watch

• Date: June 28, 2022
• Game Time: 1:10 pm ET
• Where to Watch: ESPN+

Cleveland Guardians vs. Minnesota Twins Prediction

The Minnesota Twins play the Cleveland Guardians taking place from Cleveland, Ohio, on Tuesday afternoon for game one of this day-night doubleheader. The vast majority of people would not have the Twins to be number one in the Central and the Guardians to be number two on their bingo cards in late June, but here we are. These teams have both exceeded expectations, and now the league knows how tough these teams are to beat.

The Guardians looked like they were going back to rebuild mode when they moved on from long-time star Fransisco Lindor last season. The re-signing of Jose Ramirez gave the fans some hope that this team would make some noise this year. They have to this point.

The Twins were extremely aggressive in the off-season, most notably landing all-star and former World Series champion shortstop Carlos Correa. The team also added depth in Gary Sanchez and Gio Urshela while adding starting pitcher Sonny Gray. This is a team that already had star power in Byron Buxton, Jorge Polanco, and Luis Arraez. Pitching was always going to be the issue for the Twins, but their pitchers have stepped up this season. One of those guys who has stepped up is southpaw Devin Smeltzer. Smeltzer enters play 4-1 with an era of 3.05. He will be opposed by Zach Plesac, the nephew of longtime MLB pitcher Dan Plesac. 

I am going to back the Guardians to bounce back off a bad loss yesterday. I think these teams split the doubleheader today, but the Guardians get the first game. Plesac is a guy with excellent stuff, and when he is on, he will eat up innings and limit offenses. I believe this is a good spot for him today against this Twins team.

The Guardians bats should wake up after a lackluster performance just a night ago. Cleveland has raked against left-handed pitching, ranking first in the MLB in OBP vs. southpaws. Smeltzer is a guy I believe is due for regression and has pitched better than he is capable of for a full season. Let’s get an early winner to start the day! 

Cleveland Guardians vs. Minnesota Twins Pick

• Guardians ML (-105) (Bet $105 to Win $100)

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