The Cleveland Guardians and Minnesota Twins will conclude their three-game series on Sunday afternoon in Minnesota. With that said, it’s a good time to check out our MLB odds series, which includes a Guardians-Twins prediction and pick, laid out below.

Cleveland has won the first two games of this series, creating some breathing room in the AL Central race. Cleveland is in first place with a 72-65 record, holding a game-and-a-half lead over the Chicago White Sox. Looking to sweep the series, Cleveland may have a chance to bury Minnesota's playoff hopes this weekend.

Minnesota, with a 2-8 record in their last 10 games, has fallen to third place in the AL Central with a 69-69 record. The team now sits three-and-a-half games behind Cleveland and eight-and-a-half-games behind the final AL Wild Card spot. Getting swept this weekend would put a huge damper on their playoff hopes.

Here are the Guardians-Twins MLB odds, courtesy of FanDuel. 

MLB Odds: Guardians-Twins Odds

Cleveland Guardians: -1.5 (+114)

Minnesota Twins: +1.5 (-137)

Over: 7.5 (+100)

Under: 7.5 (-122)

Why The Guardians Could Cover The Spread

Cleveland will send their best starter, Shane Bieber, to the mound in this one, looking to complete the sweep.

Bieber has gone 9-8 with a 2.96 ERA and 171 strikeouts in 167 innings of work this season, holding batters to a .230 average. To combat a dip in velocity, Bieber has altered his pitch mix, throwing 23 percent fewer fastballs than his rookie season in 2018. Now, Bieber relies heavily on his slider, which has held batters to a .209 batting average with 67 strikeouts, the most of any of his pitches. Also accounting for Bieber's success is his 5.1 percent walk rate, his lowest total since 2019.

Cleveland's strong pitching staff is boosted by a dominant bullpen that ranks fifth in ERA at 3.20. The group has struck out 487 batters in 455.1 innings. Trevor Stephan has pitched to a 2.48 ERA with 70 strikeouts in 54.1 innings. James Karinchak has largely been good in his return from injury, pitching to a 1.63 ERA with 44 strikeouts in 27.2 innings. In 23 of Karinchak's 26 appearances, the right-hander has held opponents scoreless. Closer Emmanuel Clase has pitched to a sterling 1.36 ERA with 33 saves in 64 games.

Jose Ramirez has been the best part of the Cleveland offense, leading the team with 39 doubles, 26 home runs and 109 RBIs. Ramirez has only swung and missed on 14.2% of his swings, ranking in the 97th percentile in the league. Josh Naylor is second on the team with 16 home runs and 64 RBIs, adding 21 doubles. Andres Gimenez leads the team with a .300 batting average and 18 stolen bases, adding 15 home runs and 23 doubles. Rookie Oscar Gonzalez has impressed in 66 games, hitting 24 doubles and seven home runs. Fellow rookie Steven Kwan owns a .287 batting average, and has walked more than he has struck out this season.

Cleveland has strikes out least in the league, only going down 940 times, the last team to be under 1,000 strikeouts.

Why The Twins Could Cover The Spread

Minnesota's starting pitcher this afternoon is Josh Winder, who has made 10 appearances and six starts while pitching to a 3.77 ERA. Winder has impressed in his rookie season, holding batters to a .186 batting average on his slider. The tall right-hander has struck out 29 batters in 45.1 innings.

Minnesota's bullpen boasts one of the nastiest pitchers in the league, Jhoan Duran. The star rookie has pitched to a 1.76 ERA with 78 strikeouts in 61.1 innings. Duran averages around 101 mph on his fastball. Fellow rookie Jovani Moran has pitched to a 1.84 ERA with 40 strikeouts in 29.1 innings. In his last seven appearances, Moran has pitched to a 0.90 ERA, with 12 strikeouts in 10 innings across that stretch.

Minnesota's offense has been led by offseason pickup Carlos Correa, who has 19 home runs and a .280 batting average. Correa has been the Twins' most consistent performer with Byron Buxton missing significant chunks of time this season. Luis Arraez leads the team with a .316 batting average and 28 doubles, walking more than he has struck out this season. Gary Sanchez has improved both his defense and offense, hitting 14 home runs with a .215 batting average in his first season with Minnesota. Jorge Polanco has hit 16 home runs with a .346 on-base percentage. Rookie Jose Miranda has hit 14 home runs on the season, leading the team with 61 RBI. Gio Urshela has 23 doubles and 11 home runs in his first season since coming to Minnesota. Minnesota is 12th in the league with 159 home runs on the season and ranks 10th with 447 walks.

Final Guardians-Twins Prediction & Pick

Shane Bieber will simply be too much for Minnesota to handle in this one, as is the case with most teams he faces.

Final Guardians-Twins Prediction & Pick: Cleveland -1.5 (+114), under 7.5 (-122)