Francisco Lindor and the surging Cleveland Indians will be hitting the diamond against their AL Central foe Minnesota Twins at Target Field in a Saturday showdown. The matchup will begin at 7:10 p.m. ET and fans looking to watch it can tune in to Fox Sports North.
Cleveland Indians at Minnesota Twins Odds
Las Vegas has Cleveland (+135) as the underdog to Minnesota (-145). You can play game’s total with current odds posted at -120 for over 10 runs and even money (+100) for under 10. There’s a runline of Indians +1.5 (-160) and Twins -1.5 (+140) for this matchup.
The Indians have gone 70-46 SU this year and are 60-55 against the spread (ATS). They’ve gained 6.2 units for gamblers taking the moneyline and 5.1 units ATS. Cleveland’s covered the spread six times in its last seven games and the total has gone under in five of those seven. The Twins, on the other hand, are 70-46 SU and 62-53 ATS. They’ve gained 15.1 units for moneyline bettors and 4.3 units ATS. Minnesota has covered the spread four times in its last seven games and the total has gone over in five of those seven.
Minnesota games have a 59-51-5 over/under record in 2019. Indians games have gone under 62 times, gone over 49 times and pushed on four occasions.
Adam Plutko will get the nod for the visiting Indians. The right-handed Plutko (4-2, 4.55 ERA) has racked up 36 strikeouts in 59.1 innings so far. He has yet to face the Twins this year and only made one start against them in 2018 (0-0, 3.68 ERA and six strikeouts across seven and one-third innings).
The Twins will be sending righty Jake Odorizzi (12-5, 3.61 ERA) to the hill. Odorizzi has 120 strikeouts and 40 walks to his credit as well as a WHIP of 1.19. Odorizzi is 1-0 with 13 strikeouts and a 1.59 ERA across two starts against Cleveland this year.
Cleveland’s pitching staff allowed 3.9 runs per game and its starters own a 3.87 ERA, 1.18 WHIP and 9.77 K/9. The bullpen has an ERA of 3.26, along with a WHIP of 1.18 and a K-per-9 of 9.16.
Indians hitters have slashed .250/.326/.430 on their way to 4.7 runs scored per game this year, including 4.9 runs per game against divisional foes and 4.0 per game over the team’s last five outings (4-1 SU).
Cleveland’s hitters have been paced by shortstop Francisco Lindor and first baseman Carlos Santana. Lindor is slashing .300/.353/.521 with 20 home runs, 48 RBIs, 65 runs and 18 stolen bases, while Santana is hitting .279 with 24 homers, 65 RBIs and 78 runs scored.
In the other dugout, Minnesota’s pitchers have yielded 4.7 runs per game overall in 2019. Its starters have a 3.99 ERA, 1.24 WHIP and 8.3 strikeouts per nine innings. The bullpen has a 4.43 ERA, 1.38 WHIP and 9.4 K/9. In 42 divisional games, Twins starters have an ERA of 3.76 and the bullpen’s ERA is 2.56.
The Minnesota offense has produced 5.8 runs per outing, including 5.6 per game against divisional foes and 5.2 per game over its last five. The team’s hit .261/.318/.444 over its last five contests and is 1-4 SU during that span.
Shortstop Jorge Polanco and right fielder Max Kepler have led the charge for the Twins’ hitters this year. Polanco is slashing .296/.358/.497 with 17 home runs, 56 RBIs and 72 runs scored, and Kepler’s line is .264/.340/.544 with 31 homers, 77 RBIs and 78 runs.
The Indians have lost 0.6 units and are 40-40 ATS when facing a right-handed starting pitcher this year. The over has hit in 29 of those games, as opposed to 47 that’ve hit the under in such games. On the other hand, the Twins have netted 17.5 units and are 47-41 ATS when facing a right-handed starting pitcher. The over has hit in 43 of those games, as opposed to 42 which went under the total.
Indians vs. Twins Prediction
Predictions: SU Winner – Twins, ATS Winner – Indians, O/U – UNDER
Betting Trends
- Both offenses have tallied 15 extra-base hits over their last five outings.
- The Indians have won seven of their last eight games SU.
- Cleveland has recorded 22.5 Runs + Hits + Errors per game over its last 10 outings and 20.4 over its last five.
- The Indians have hit 14 home runs in their last 10 games. The Twins have hit 20 over their last 10.
- The Indians have an OPS of .756 this season and an OPS of .765 against right-handed pitchers. The Twins’ OPS stands at .836 overall and .825 against righties.
