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Indians vs Twins

Indians vs Twins – MLB Odds & Picks

Written by on August 25, 2020

MLB Betting News

There’s more than a month to go in the 2020 MLB regular season, yet Wednesday will be the last game the Minnesota Twins play at the division rival Cleveland Guardians – although they could face off in the playoffs. The Twins should be short favorites on the MLB odds behind ace Jose Berrios.

How to Bet Indians at Twins MLB Odds & TV Info

  • When: Wednesday, 7:10 PM ET
  • Where: Progressive Field
  • Probable pitchers (away/home): Jose Berrios/Adam Plutko
  • TV: MLB Extra Innings
  • Stream/gameday audio: https://www.mlb.com/live-stream-games/
  • Opening MLB Lines: TBA
Why Bet on Minnesota?

The Twins went 5-4 at Progressive Field in 2019, winning both series in Cleveland after the All-Star Break. The Twins won two-of-three games July 12-14, then swept a Saturday, September 14 doubleheader to win a three-game weekend set. After this set wraps up Wednesday, the teams will meet just once more – a three-game series September 11-13 in Minneapolis. This Twins-Tribe series also pits the American League’s top pitching staffs in 2020.

Consider a prop bet at Mybookie for any game this series on Twins slugger Nelson Cruz.  Since joining the Twins before last season, he entered this series batting .364 with 34 home runs, 92 RBI, a .444 on-base percentage, a .777 slugging percentage and a 1.220 OPS against AL Central foes. Cruz leads all players vs. the division in homers, RBI, OBP, slugging and OPS (min. 200 PA) in that span, while trailing only reigning AL batting champion Tim Anderson of the White Sox (.382) in batting average.

This season vs. divisional foes, Cruz is batting .407 with nine home runs, 18 RBI, a .484 on-base percentage, a .963 slugging mark and a 1.447 OPS. With runners in scoring position, he’s hitting .545. Overall, Cruz has hit 51 homers since joining the Twins in 2019, tied for the sixth-most in baseball in that span.

It’s Jose Berrios (2-3, 4.75) on the mound for the Twins. Berrios shut out the Brewers for six innings and struck out nine in the Twins’ 7-1 victory last Thursday. Berrios allowed just one hit in turning in his second quality start and picking up his second victory in six tries this season. He may have broken out of an early funk that had seen him sport a 5.92 ERA through five starts. Berrios entered the contest having lost his previous two starts, allowing eight earned runs over 9.1 innings in the pair of performances.

“You look at his actual velocity and his stuff; his movement on his pitches is better than it ever has been, and I think that’s an adjustment,” pitching coach Wes Johnson said. The issue, Johnson said, has been the right-hander is trying to harness his improved movement.

Why Bet on Cleveland?

Indians manager Terry Francona will not manage the team during this series. Francona underwent a medical procedure for a gastrointestinal ailment last Friday and is still recuperating. It’s unclear if he’ll be ready to return for the team’s road trip which begins Friday in St. Louis, but first base coach Sandy Alomar Jr. will continue to fill in for now.

Francona recently said he’ll try to manage games whenever he can, but last week president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti said the team has been encouraging him to take as long as needed before coming back. As of Monday Cleveland has the third-worst offense in MLB, ahead of only the Rangers and Pirates, and 24% worse than league average (76 OPS+). They’ve had some bad luck, based on a .258 BABIP (also third worst), but also a complete lack of power (.126 ISO, worst in MLB).

It’s Adam Plutko (1-2, 6.88) on the mound. Plutko has struggled since he took Mike Clevinger’s spot in the Indians’ rotation, posting a 9.90 ERA in 10 innings over three starts.

Plutko was done in by a disastrous fourth inning in last Friday’s loss to the Tigers, giving up seven runs on five hits over 3 1/3 innings of work. The right-hander walked two and struck out one. After allowing only a single to Jonathan Schoop through the first three innings, everything fell apart after he retired Victor Reyes to begin the fourth inning. After walking Miguel Cabrera, Schoop crushed a two-run homer, and it was all downhill from there. The next four hitters all reached before Issac Paredes crushed a grand slam to end Plutko’s evening.

In two starts against the Twins in ’19, he pitched to a 4.50 ERA.

It’s not a sure thing that Plutko pitches here as Antonetti said Plutko only is “penciled in” for Wednesday’s start a decision has yet to be finalized. Prospect Triston McKenzie appears to have already leapfrogged him on the depth chart after a dominant MLB debut over the weekend. Plutko is very good starting games, as he has a 2.25 in innings one and two. It’s after that when the wheels fall out. In innings three and four, Plutko’s ERA is astoundingly high 15.00.

Expert Prediction Twins 6, Indians 4

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