Guardians vs. Twins Prediction and Odds for Sunday, May 15 (Triston McKenzie Gives Guardians Edge)
By Joe Summers
After taking two of the first three games of the series, the 16-16 Cleveland Guardians hope to pull off a series finale victory as they take on the 19-15 Minnesota Twins today at 2:10 p.m. EST.
Triston McKenzie gets the call for Cleveland and he's coming off back-to-back quality starts against the Blue Jays and Athletics. He sports a 2.76 ERA on the year and has given up two or fewer runs in five of his six outings.
Minnesota will counter with Joe Ryan, who is coming off his worst start of the campaign but has also given up two or fewer runs in five of his six games.
Which pitcher has the edge in this AL Central battle? Perhaps the total presents value instead of a side? Let's check out the odds from WynnBET Sportsbook to help find out ahead of this Guardians vs Twins matchup:
Guardians vs Twins Odds, Run Line and Total
Run Line:
- Guardians +1.5 (-165)
- Twins -1.5 (+140)
Moneyline:
- Guardians: +133
- Twins: -143
Total:
- 7.5 (Over -115/Under -105)
Guardians vs Twins Prediction and Pick
Triston McKenzie is one of my favorite pitchers in the game and I'm thrilled to see his success early in the season. There's just something about watching a 6'5", 165 lb. guy built like Gumby mow down opposing batters that brings me joy. He struggled to go deep in games over his first several starts, but he's thrown six innings in each of his most recent two outings and looks to be fully comfortable.
I expect McKenzie to stay comfortable against a slumping Twins offense. If you take out Minnesota's 12-run explosion in the second game of this series, they're averaging a paltry 1.71 runs per game in their last seven. It's no surprise, then, that the under is 5-1-1 in those contests.
Cleveland's lineup, on the other hand, is absolutely rolling. They're averaging 5.69 runs per game over their previous 13 contests, amassing a 9-4 record in the process.
Joe Ryan has been strong this year for Minnesota, but he has a 6.23 ERA in May and is facing a Guardians squad that leads MLB in OPS against right-handed pitchers. Getting plus money on a team that I believe is better and has the better starting pitcher today is a lovely proposition, indeed.
Give me Cleveland to continue closing the gap in the AL Central and pick up a road win behind another strong performance from McKenzie.
Pick: Guardians (+133)
Follow all of Joe Summers' betting picks here.