Twins vs. Indians Pick
Are the host Cleveland Indians going to roll past the Minnesota Twins Thursday afternoon at 12:10PM EST?
According to oddsmakers at sports book Bovada.lv, the Indians are a -280 favorite to win on the moneyline. The Twins are a +230 underdog and the over-under is 8.5. Cleveland is -135 on the -1.5 runline, while Minnesota is +115 on the +1.5 runline.
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Pitching for Minnesota will be Ervin Santana (16-8, 3.36 ERA), while Cleveland is turning to Carlos Carrasco (17-6, 3.43). Santana holds a 1.13 WHIP with 166 strikeouts over 206 1/3 innings. He gave up three earned runs on seven hits with five strikeouts and no walks over seven innings in a 10-4 win at Detroit his last start. Santana has a 2.84 ERA in 104 2/3 road innings. Carrasco comes in with a 1.11 WHIP and 212 strikeouts in 191 1/3 innings. He allowed one earned run on six hits with six strikeouts and one walk over 5 2/3 innings in an 11-4 win at Seattle his last outing. Carrasco holds a 4.38 ERA in 86 1/3 home innings.
The Twins are 83-75 overall and 44-36 on the road, while the Indians are 99-59 and 46-31 at home. The two teams have split the last 10 meetings 5-5 and the total has gone under eight times.
On Wednesday night, Minnesota lost 4-2 but still clinched the second AL Wild Card spot due to a loss by the Angels. It is the first time a team has made the postseason the year after a 100-loss season in MLB history. Edwin Encarnacion was 2-for-2 with two walks, a run and an RBI for Cleveland. Carlos Santana finished 3-for-4. Yan Gomes was 1-for-2 with a solo home run and two RBIs. Mike Clevenger picked up the win in relief. Jorge Polanco hit a two-run homer for the Twins’ offense. Adalberto Mejia gave up two earned runs in 3 2/3 innings to take the loss.
While Minnesota celebrated its playoff berth last night, Cleveland still has work to do as it is protecting a one-game lead over the Astros in the race for home-field advantage through the ALCS. Carrasco is nasty when on his game, which will likely be easier today as the Twins are almost certainly going to rest many starters for a noon game the day after clinching. Poor Santana will have to deal with little to no run support while navigating against one of the best offenses in baseball. Good luck. We like the Indians on the runline.
MLB DAILY PREDICTION: CLEVELAND INDIANS RL