Twins vs Guardians Pick: Cleveland Tries To Take 3 of 4 (May 1)

• Our Twins vs Guardians pick gauges whether Cleveland will take 3 of 4 over struggling Minnesota
• Minnesota, one of MLB‘s biggest disappointments, is in 4th place in the AL Central with a record of 13-18
• Cleveland is in 2nd place in the AL Central with a 17-13 record
• Ben Lively takes the hill for the Guardians; Simeon Woods Richardson will start for the Twins

Minnesota Has Lost 2 Straight After a Semi-Hot Run

The Twins got off to a terrible start, falling to 7-15 after 22 games. They took advantage of two terrible teams, the White Sox and the Angels, and won 5 of 6. Then they won the first game of their series in Cleveland and looked like they might be righting themselves. However, they have lost two straight to the Guardians.

The Twins send Simeon Woods Richardson to the mound. The young righty has pitched respectably in 2025, though he has a 4.07 ERA and is giving up more hits than innings (29 hits in 24.1 innings).

In his last start against the White Sox, he threw 4 innings, gave up 5 hits and 2 runs, striking out 5.

Against Richardson, the Guardians’ Steven Kwan is 1 for 3 with a home run. Kyle Manzardo is 2 for 2 with a home run. Bo Naylor is 1 for 4 with a home run.

The Twins have not been hitting. Byron Buxton is batting .239. On the plus side, he has 6 home runs. Carlos Correa is batting .215. Ty France had a scorching start, but has fallen to Earth and has a .745 OPS.

Lively Has Either Been Excellent or Barely Mediocre

The Guardians’ righty Ben Lively has had two excellent starts in which he’s pitched a combined 10.1 innings and given up 6 hits and no runs. In his other starts, he has been passable, generally getting through 4-5 innings and giving up 3 or 4 runs.

He has limited exposure to the Twins. Harrison Bader is 1 for 2 with a double. Edouard Julien is 2 for 3. Christian Vazquez is 2 for 2 with a double.

Manzardo is batting .220, but has 8 home runs. Jose Ramirez is still waiting to be his usual superstar self, but has a .770 OPS, 5 home runs, and 6 stolen bases. Steven Kwan is blossoming into a star with a .322 batting average and 4 homers.

Twins vs Guardians Pick: Cleveland Pulls This One Out

Although Lively is eminently hittable, the Twins do not seem to hit that much. Cleveland should score enough runs against Richardson and hold Minnesota down to take this one and 3 of 4 in the series.