Cleveland Indians (40-31) vs. Minnesota Twins (31-42)
June 24, 2021 8:10 pm EDT
The Line: Minnesota Twins -185 / Cleveland Indians +170; Over/Under: 9
(Get latest betting odds)
The Cleveland Indians and the Minnesota Twins meet in an AL Central division matchup in MLB action from Target Field on Thursday.
The Cleveland Indians will look to bounce back from a 7-1 loss at the hands of the Chicago cubs last time out. Amed Rosario had the lone RBI for the Tribe while Ryan Lavarnway added a double. Bradley Zimmer, Ernie Clement, Josh Naylor, Eddie Rosario and Cesar Hernandez each had a base hit as the Indians had just six hits as a team in the losing effort. Eli Morgan ended up with the loss, falling to 0-2 on the year after allowing four runs on four hits while striking out nine over five innings of work. Jean-Carlos Mejia gets the start here and is 1-2 with a 6.11 ERA and 16 strikeouts this season. This will be Mejia’s first career start against the Twins.
The Minnesota Twins will also be looking to bounce back after their 10-7 loss at the hands of Cincinnati last time out. Max Kepler and Ryan Jeffers each had a two-run home run while Alex Kirilloff went 2 for 4 with a double and two RBIs. Trevor Larnach added a solo home run as well to cap off the scoring for the Twins in the losing effort. Nelson Cruz and Miguel Sano each had multi-hit games with a double as well for Minnesota in the defeat. Bailey Ober allowed four earned runs on six hits with a pair of strikeouts over 4.1 innings of work, not factoring in the decision. Hansel Robles took the loss in relief, falling to 3-4 on the year as a result. Jose Berrios will start here and is 7-2 with a 3.56 ERA and 87 strikeouts this season. in his career, Berrios is 5-3 with a 3.91 ERA and 73 strikeouts against Cleveland.
Cleveland is 7-1 in their last 8 games following a loss and 5-2 in their last 7 games against a team with a losing record while the under is 3-0-1 in their last 4 road games. Minnesota is 5-1 in their last 6 games overall and 4-9 in their last 13 games following an off day while the over is 12-3-1 in their last 16 games as a home favorite. The over is 7-0-1 in the last 8 meetings between these two teams.
I think it can only go up from here for J.C. Mejia and against a Twins team that has been underwhelming offensively all year long, this could be a get right spot. On the other hand, Jose Berrios has been the best arm the Twins have had this season and I think he will keep the Indians’ bats at bay here. Give me the under.
