Cleveland Guardians vs Minnesota Twins 6/1/2023 Free Picks, Game Analysis and Tips
On June 1, 2023, at 7:40 PM ET, the Cleveland Guardians will play the Minnesota Twins in MLB action at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota. A club that won the AL Central and advanced through the wildcard round in 2022, the Cleveland Guardians are now in third place in the AL Central Division, although their performance so far has been well below expectations. The Guardians had trouble scoring runs this season despite bringing in catcher Mike Zunino and first baseman Josh Bell in the summer to offer the team more power. The pair had only combined for six home runs and 33 RBI before Wednesday’s series-ending game against the Orioles. Despite Shane Bieber’s exceptionally poor start, the Guardians crushed the struggling Orioles 12-8 on Wednesday. The Guardians collected a season-high 17 hits, while Josh Naylor went 4-for-6 with two doubles, a home run, and six RBI.
In game one against the Twins, youngster Tanner Bibee will be the one to receive the ball for Cleveland. Bibee has performed well on the mound after being called up, going 1-1 in six starts with a 2.88 ERA. Bibee has had three solid starts and has an 8.9 K/9 rate and a 1.09 WHIP. In two road starts this season, Bibee has a 3.18 ERA and a 1-0 record. When pitching on the road, his K/9 rate drops to only 6.4, and his WHIP rise to 1.32, allowing 11 hits in 11.2 innings.
The Guardians’ pitchers faced the plate 48 times with runners on base and 72 times in high-stress scenarios. With 27 holds, the bullpen pitchers are currently ranked 19th in the league. With a 62.5% save percentage going into the game, the Guardians’ relievers faced 59 save opportunities. They had 32 opportunities to make saves this year but only converted 20. This year, 62 runners were allowed by the bullpen pitchers, and 21.0% reached base.
- The Cleveland Guardians are 5-1 SU in their last 6 road games against Minnesota.
- The total went UNDER in 5 of Cleveland’s last 7 games against an opponent in the AL.
- The total stayed UNDER in 12 of Cleveland’s last 15 games against an opponent in the American League Central Division.
Cleveland Guardians vs Minnesota Twins 6/1/2023 Free Picks, Game Analysis and Tips
In the AL Central in 2022, the Minnesota Twins jumped out to an early lead and held it into the all-star break, but a flurry of deadline transactions interrupted their momentum and led to a second-half collapse that allowed the Guardians to win the division. The Twins are the only club in the AL Central Division with a positive run differential (+40), although they are just two games above.500 heading into Wednesday night’s series finale against the Astros. Starting pitcher Louie Varland pitched seven innings without allowing a run, and the Twins’ offense pounded out 11 hits and nine runs to defeat the Astros 9-2 on Wednesday.
The Twins will employ Pablo Lopez, one of their big offseason trade pickups, to start the series against the Guardians. Lopez has made 11 starts this year and has a 4.11 ERA, going 3-3. He has had six starts thus far, pitching effectively with a K/9 rate of 11.1 and a WHIP of 1.13. In his five home starts this year, Lopez has a 2-1 record and a 5.46 ERA. At home, Lopez’s WHIP jumps to 1.25 and his K/9 rate barely increases to 11.2. In his first season in the American League, Lopez’s hard-hit percentage went from a little over 34% to 40%, an increase of around 6%. But he also had a higher strikeout percentage this year, going from a little below 24% for his career to 30%.
With 208 runs allowed this season, the Minnesota pitching staff has an ERA of 3.47 (191 earned runs given). With 53 long balls surrendered, they had the second-lowest runs per nine innings in MLB at 3.78. The Twins’ collective WHIP and FIP for this season are 1.180 and 3.58, respectively. K/BB for them ratio now stands at 9.90 (543 strikeouts to 168 walks). Their pitching staff is the best in MLB with 416 total hits allowed.
- The Minnesota Twins are 1-5 SU in their last 6 games at home against Cleveland.
- The total stayed UNDER in 8 of Minnesota’s last 12 games with an opponent in the AL.
- Minnesota is 2-4 SU in their last 6 games against an opponent in the AL Central Division.
Cleveland Guardians vs Minnesota Twins. The MLB pick for this game is the Minnesota Twins. When playing at home, the Twins have a 16-12 record at Target Field this year. The Guardians’ road record this season has them four games under.500. Also put to the test by the Guardians’ light-hitting lineup will be Lopez’s 11.2 K/9 rate. In their previous 10 games, the Guardians have only hit.224, and they are only scoring 2.6 runs on average. With only 3.7 runs per game over their previous ten games, the Twins have performed somewhat better. The Twins do have impressive power stats at home, though.
The team played 28 home games this season, scoring an average of almost five runs per game. This year, they are slugging an incredible 1.200 at home. Bibee had trouble retiring batters with a K/9 % of just over six away from home, so the Twins’ lineup should put up big numbers in this one. The Twins will triumph, with a score prediction of 6-4.
MLB Starting Time: 7:10 PM ET
Location: Target Field, MN
Date: Thursday, June 1, 2023
TV: Bally Sports North
MLB Odds: Cleveland Guardians +128
MLB Totals: 8
