Cleveland Guardians vs. Minnesota Twins Prediction: Can Bailey Ober, Twins Grab Game One of Doubleheader?
The Minnesota Twins will take on the Cleveland Guardians on Friday afternoon as part of a doubleheader. Can Bailey Ober lead them to a hot start in game one? Ben Rajavuori answers with his Guardians vs. Twins prediction.
Ben Rajavuori - August 9, 2024, 12:22 PM EDT
5 minCleveland Guardians vs. Minnesota Twins Prediction: Can Bailey Ober, Twins Grab Game One of Doubleheader?
The Minnesota Twins and Cleveland Guardians will square off in a doubleheader today in one of the biggest series on the board this weekend. The Twins and Guardians are neck-and-neck in the standings, as the Guardians hold first place with a record of 67–47, while the Minnesota Twins are 3.5 games behind at 63–50.
The Guardians held the best record in baseball for a long stretch of the season before going 14–16 over their last 30 games and now sitting in fourth place with 67 wins. The Twins, meanwhile, have been picking up a little bit of steam, going 17–13 over the last 30 games and slowly catching up to the guardians. The AL Central is a heated battle right now and this series will prove massive for postseason implications. The Guardians have won all five games played between these two clubs so far this season, making this four-game weekend series very interesting.
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Cleveland Guardians vs. Minnesota Twins Prediction
With today being a doubleheader, it’s relevant to look at doubleheader statistics in the MLB. Since 2000, exactly 50% of doubleheaders have resulted in a split, meaning each team wins a game. It truly is remarkable it has been this down the middle, but I expect we could see the same thing once again today. If the Twins are expected to win one of these games, it will surely be the first, as we can look ahead to the pitching matchup in game two and see the Twins will start Louie Varland in the second game. Varland is somehow back in the MLB after struggling immensely last year with a 6.58 ERA in six appearances. Wieland is back on the roster because of starting pitching injuries for the Twins, and I have no confidence that will be able to pitch well against the Guardians.
However, Bailey Ober will start in game one for the Twins. Ober has been much more consistent this season and has a 3.1 ERA at home this year. Ober struggled in his first start against the Guardians this season, but this was on the road. This time, he pitches in his home stadium where has been much better this year.
Meanwhile, the Guardians will start Joey Cantillo, who only has two MLB starts under his belt and has struggled in both. In today's doubleheader, I expect the Twins to take game one and the Guardians to take game two.
Cleveland Guardians vs. Minnesota Twins Pick
Pick: Twins Game One ML -155 Click here to see which sportsbooks have the best odds for this pick
Cleveland Guardians vs. Minnesota Twins System Projections - August 9th
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