Cleveland Guardians at Minnesota Twins 5/15/22 - MLB Picks & Predictions

The Cleveland Guardians play the third and final game of a three-game series Sunday on the road against the Minnesota Twins. Cleveland dropped to 15-16 following a 12-8 loss to Minnesota in the opening game of the series on Friday. Austin Hedges, Oscar Mercado and Andres Gimenez each homered for Cleveland in the loss. Cleveland is second in the American League Central, three games behind the first place Twins. 

First baseman Owen Miller is batting ,314 to lead Cleveland. Third baseman Jose Ramirez is leading Cleveland in home runs with seven, RBIs with 32, hits with 35 and on-base percentage at .401. Josh Naylor, who was just put on the COVID-19 protocols, is second in home runs with five. On Sunday, Cleveland will send Triston McKenzie to the mound. The right-hander is 2-2 with a 2.76 ERA, 30 Ks and 9 BBs.

With its four-run victory on Friday, Minnesota improved to 19-14. Minnesota scored nine runs in the fifth inning that included a grand slam by Royce Lewis for his first career MLB home run. Gary Sanchez, Jorge Polanco and Byron Buxton also homered for the Twins. Minnesota is leading the American League Central by three games over the Cleveland Indians and the Chicago White Sox.

Byron Buxton is batting .259 to lead Minnesota and the designated hitter has a team high 10 home runs. Shortstop Jorge Polanco is the leader in RBI's with 20 and hits with 29. Right fielder Max Kepler is the leader in on-base percentage .347. On Sunday, the Minnesota Twins will send Joe Ryan to the mound. The right-hander is 3-2 with a 2.56 ERA, 31 Ks and 12 BBs.