In a critical AL Central matchup with the division crown on the line, the Minnesota Twins will attempt to give it one last gasp as they take on the first-place Cleveland Guardians in game two of Saturday's doubleheader. With that being said, it is time to check out our MLB odds series, where our Twins-Guardians prediction and pick will come true.

Now trailing by five games in the division race, the former first-place Minnesota Twins have stumbled their way to seven losses in eleven contests. Even though the Twins were able to reel off a nice three-game winning streak, Minnesota came up short on Friday in heartbreaking fashion by a score of 4-3 to Cleveland. Looking to even up the series, the Twins will call upon right-hander Louie Varland, who will be making only his second career start since being called up from Triple-A St. Paul.

With a clutch win that came in large part due to a furious late-game rally that saw Cleveland overcome a 3-0 deficit, the Guardians will look to use the triumphant confidence from yesterday to win their seventh game in eight matchups overall. With Cleveland getting hot at just the right time, they will send out righty Josh Winder, who is 4-4 with a 3.83 ERA thus far.

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

MLB Odds: Twins-Guardians Odds

Minnesota Twins: +1.5 (-170)

Cleveland Guardians: -1.5 (+140)

Over: 8.5 (-114)

Under: 8.5 (-106)

Why The Twins Could Cover The Spread

Minnesota has to find a way to not falter the way they did yesterday. It seemed like the Twins were on their way to moving a game closer to the Guardians, but the bullpen imploded by surrendering three runs in the seventh as they also gave up the lead in the eighth. Simply put, it was a game that the Twins let get away and were one that Minnesota cannot afford to lose with their postseason chances dwindling by the day.

While it was certainly a great start for the Twins on Friday, Minnesota went ice cold at the plate from the fifth inning on. Without a doubt, they need to find a way to stay consistent throughout the entire contest.

As a whole, the Twins have hit for a respectable .249 batting average and are also a top-ten squad in baseball when it comes to their on-base and slugging percentage, so Minnesota will need to have batters reach base to put the pressure on the Guardians and their pitchers. The Twins' biggest threat offensively is obviously outfielder Byron Buxton, who despite only slashing .224 on the year, has belted 28 home runs to lead Minnesota. Clearly, Buxton can change the tone of a game with one swing of the bat and will do his best to help the Twins cover the spread.

The biggest question mark in this one comes from the mound, as Louie Varland will be tasked in keeping Cleveland at bay. Varland was impressive during his debut against a lethal team in the Yankees as he pitched 5 1/3 innings while striking out seven and only gave up a pair of runs. If he can replicate his last outing, then the Twins might have something brewing on this Saturday.

Why The Guardians Could Cover The Spread

How hot is this team right now? Just when the AL Central division race couldn't get any more competitive, the Guardians turned it up a notch and now sit comfortably in the driver's seat. With just about 20 games remaining in the season, Cleveland has a four-game lead on second-place Chicago in the standings.

While it was far from a pretty outing, Cleveland displayed a sense of resiliency by overcoming a 3-0 deficit with their backs up against the wall. However, the Guardians would love to get off to a better start than they did yesterday.

For starters, Cleveland will hope that they can be patient within their at-bats especially considering there is a young buck on the mound for Minnesota. On the season, Cleveland is only 22nd in the league in runs scored, but they have accumulated a solid .251 batting average over the course of the past few months. Be on the lookout for third-baseman Jose Ramirez to continue his offensive prowess as he has belted 27 home runs along with 111 RBIs to lead the team in both categories.

Not to mention, but the expected starter in Josh Winder is 1-1 with a 1.80 ERA in his two career starts against the Twins. In his last meeting versus Minnesota on June 28th, Winder dueled his heart out when he pitched six shutout innings en route to a 6-0 victory. When Winder gets in a rhythm, few opposing hitters have what it takes to slow him down.

Final Twins-Guardians Prediction & Pick

With the Twins season hanging in the balance, this is as close as a must-win for Minnesota as it gets. Unfortunately, the odds are stacked against them with a scalding hot Guardians team looking like a squad that is locked and loaded for postseason play.

Final Twins-Guardians Prediction & Pick: Guardians -1.5 (+140)