The hottest team in baseball entering the second half of the season is the Cleveland Indians. They have run off six straight wins to close the gap in the AL Central behind the first-place Minnesota Twins to 5.5 games when it was double digits not long ago. The Tribe is favored on the MLB Lines to cut that by another game on Friday.

Twins vs Indians MLB Odds, Preview & Expert Pick

• When: Friday, 7:10 PM ET
• Where: Progressive Field
• Probable pitchers (away/home): Kyle Gibson/Mike Clevinger
• TV: MLB Extra Innings
• Live Stream: MLB.tv
• Radio: 93.1 The Fan
• MLB Odds: Cleveland Indians -140 (Total 9)

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Why Bet on Minnesota?

The Indians and Twins have split six games. The Indians lost two out of three at Target Field March 28-31. The Indians took two out of three at Progressive Field June 4-6. After Sunday they will play four games in August and six in September.

Minnesota remains without two regulars on the injured list in first baseman CJ Cron and outfielder Eddie Rosario. Cron was put in IL with right thumb inflammation and should be back soon. He is slashing .266/.326/.495 with 17 long balls and 54 RBI in 78 games. It’s possible Rosario is activated Friday. He was put in the injured list retroactive to June 27 with a left ankle sprain.

Miguel Sano is on a hot streak right now as he six home runs and 11 RBI (1.017 OPS) over his last 15 games. Mitch Garver has three straight multi-hit games and 13 of them this season.

The Twins reportedly are looking for a closer in trade talks, including Toronto’s Ken Giles. Thus far, the Twins have given save chances to six different pitchers. Taylor Rogers is the current leader in the Minnesota clubhouse with 12 saves. The team’s best reliever has been Ryne Harper. His ERA is 2.92 as Harper became just the fifth Twins rookie to post a sub-3.00 ERA before the All-Star break (min. 30 games), joining José Mijares (1.88 in 2009), Doug Corbett (2.15 in 1980), Jesse Crain (2.43 in 2005) and Len Whitehouse (2.55 in 1983).

Expected to be Kyle Gibson (8-4) on the mound for the Twins. Gibson pitched a scoreless inning Sunday against the Rangers. Gibson made the start but it was more akin to a bullpen session as the Twins tried to give him a breather with the All-Star break approaching. Gibson gave up a leadoff single and walked a batter but didn’t allow any runs. He has a 4.09 ERA and 1.26 WHIP on the year.

Gibson has only allowed 29 extra-base hits this season, tied for the 17th fewest allowed in the AL and tied for 27th fewest in baseball among starters with at least 15 starts. Opponents are slugging .409 against Gibson, 21st lowest in the AL. Gibson has given up 14 doubles, which is tied for the eighth fewest in the AL among starters with at least 15 starts.

Why Bet on Cleveland?

If you bet Shane Bieber to win All-Star Game MVP on Tuesday, you made a ton of money as he was a huge long shot but did win it. Bieber, only in the game as an injury replacement, pitched the top of the fifth inning and struck out all three batters he faced as the American League went on to beat the National League by a score of 4-3.

The Indians trailed the Twins by 11 1/2 games on June 3. They’ve gone 21-8 since, riding a six-game winning streak into the second half. The Twins went 16-15 over the same period. Now the Indians are just 5 1/2 games back. Since June 4, Cleveland ranks 2nd in the AL in triples, 3rd in slugging percentage, batting average, OPS and stolen bases and T6th in home runs. The Tribe holds a 4.05 ERA in that span, the 3rd-best mark in the AL while owning the best WHIP (1.18) and strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.51) in the AL (1.18) and 3rd-best mark in strikeouts-per-nine innings (9.57).

Indians All-Star shortstop Francisco Lindor is hitting .455 (5-for-11) with three homers and four RBI against the Twins this year. Lindor was selected as an All-Star for the 4th consecutive year, marking the most All-Star selections by an Indians player since Manny Ramirez was picked 4 times (1995 and 1998-2000).

The Tribe goes with Mike Clevinger. He recorded nine strikeouts and gave up four hits and no walks through six innings to secure the win over the Royals last Wednesday. Clevinger bounced back after a seven-run outing in his last appearance to deliver a masterful performance. The right-hander was pulled after 79 pitches, suggesting the Indians are being cautious with him just two starts removed from the 10-day stay on the injured list. Clevinger continued his career-long dominance of the Royals, a team against which he now owns a 7-0 record and a 2.03 ERA. The 28-year-old has a 2-2 record with a 4.44 ERA through five starts this season.

Clevinger will make his eighth career start against the Twins. He is 2-2 against them with a 3.05 ERA in 10 total appearances. Overall, he’s 2-2 this season with a 4.44 ERA in five starts.

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Twins vs Indians MLB Betting Trends

• Twins are 2-5 in their last 7 road games
• Indians are 8-1 in their last 9 games following an off day
• Under is 5-1 in Clevinger’s last 6 starts vs. Twins
• Twins are 2-6 SU in their last 8 games when playing on the road against Cleveland
• The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Minnesota’s last 12 games played in July
• Indians are 5-1 SU in their last 6 games at home
• The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Cleveland’s last 9 games played on a Friday

Expert Final Score Prediction for Twins vs Indians

Minnesota Twins 3 – Cleveland Indians 5