Cleveland Guardians vs Minnesota Twins Prediction, Preview and Odds - 07/08/2026

Game Time: 7:40 pm ET, Wednesday, July 8, 2026

Venue:  Target Field, Minneapolis, MN 

Where to Watch:  MLB TV

DraftKings:  Moneyline odds:  Guardians +113, Twins -136; Over/Under:  8.5 runs

Bet365:  Moneyline odds:  Guardians +115, Twins -135; Over/Under:  8.5 runs

BetMGM:  Moneyline odds:  Guardians +115, Twins -135; Over/Under:  8.5 runs

Cleveland Guardians:  47-44 (2nd place, AL Central)

Minnesota Twins:  44-47 (3rd place, AL Central)

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Cleveland Guardians:  5-5 last 10

Minnesota Twins:  6-4 last 10

The Guardians are entering this series off a loss and split their 4-game series against the Chicago White Sox 2-2 in their last series. They enter this game with a 47-44 record overall and have a road record of 23-22. This is the 2nd game of a 3-game series with the Twins on Wednesday with the series opener still to be played on Tuesday. Their offense ranks 28th in the MLB with a .680 OPS. Joey Cantillo is their starting pitcher on Tuesday while Slade Cecconi is making his start in this game on Wednesday. He is 4-6 with a 4.44 ERA this season. His team won their last 2 straight games this season with him making an appearance. In his last MLB regular season appearance, he allowed 5 ER, 1 HR, and 1 BB with 3 SO on 9 hits through 5 IP against the Chicago White Sox.

The Twins are entering this series off a win and won their 3-game series against the New York Yankees 2-1 in their last series. They enter this game with a 44-47 record overall and have a home record of 22-23. This is the 2nd game of a 3-game series with the Guardians on Wednesday with the 1st game of this series still to be played on Tuesday. Their offense ranks 7th in the MLB with a .739 OPS. Taj Bradley is their starting pitcher on Tuesday while rookie pitcher Connor Prielipp is making his start in this game on Wednesday. He is 2-5 with a 4.96 ERA this season. His team lost 3 of their last 4 games this season with him making an appearance. In his last MLB regular season start, he allowed 2 earned runs, 0 homers, and 0 walks with 10 strikeouts on 6 hits through 6 innings pitched against the Colorado Rockies.

The current betting odds have the Twins listed as a favorite in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. The Twins haven't looked good in their games this season with their 44-47 record overall which has them right in the middle of the AL Central. They haven't looked great in their own ballpark either with their 22-23 home record this season. Meanwhile, the Guardians have looked good in their games this season with their 47-44 record overall which has them right near the top of the AL Central. They have been a good road team too with their 23-22 road record this year. The Guardians are 5-5 in their last 10 games and they haven't looked great lately. The Twins haven't looked great for a lot of the season, but lately they have been getting hot as they are 6-4 in their last 10 games and they are getting themselves right back in that AL Central race. The Twins are going to have Prielipp on the mound in this one and he hasn't looked great this season. He is 2-5 with a 4.96 ERA and he has been giving up a lot of runs this year, but lately he has looked better in his starts and he hasn't been nearly as bad in his home starts either. His team has lost 3 of their last 4 games with him starting, but he only gave up 2 earned runs in his last start and the Guardians do have one of the worst offenses in MLB. The Guardians are going with Cecconi in this one and he hasn't looked great this season either. He is 4-6 with a 4.44 ERA and he has been giving up a ton of runs lately. He just allowed 5 earned runs in his last start which has been a common theme for him this year and the team has lost 2 games in a row now with him starting too. This is a slightly better pitching matchup for the Twins at home with the way Cecconi has been giving up runs lately and the Twins also have the much hotter offense to give them the edge too. The best way to place a bet here is on the Twins to win this game. 

Guardians Twins Prediction:  Our MLB Pick for Wednesday, July 8, 2026 (7:40 pm ET start time) is Twins 7 Guardians 4.

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Cleveland Guardians: 232-195 (+33.5 units) on the moneyline in all games. 109-103 (+22.7 units) on the moneyline in road games. 86-102 (+10.9 units) on the moneyline as an underdog of +100 or higher. 6-3 OVER vs. AL teams scoring 4.9 or more runs/game on the season.

Minnesota Twins: 196-219 (-45.4 units) on the moneyline in all games. 103-104 (-27.4 units) on the moneyline in home games. 117-103 (-26.3 units) on the moneyline as a favorite of -110 or higher. 22-11 OVER vs. AL teams scoring 4.4 or less runs/game on the season.

Cleveland Guardians:  A. Martinez (LF) Ten Day IL - Foot. J. Ramirez (3B) Ten Day IL - Hand.

Minnesota Twins:  B. Buxton (CF) Day To Day - Hip. Z. Matthews (SP) Day To Day - Foot. A. Banda (RP) Fifteen Day IL - Lat. B. Ober (SP) Fifteen Day IL - Elbow. R. Jeffers (C) Ten Day IL - Hand. G. Acton (RP) Sixty Day IL - Shoulder. C. Sands (RP) Fifteen Day IL - Forearm. M. Abel (SP) Fifteen Day IL - Elbow. D. Festa (SP) Sixty Day IL - Shoulder. P. Lopez (SP) Sixty Day IL - Elbow.

“These are two very evenly matched teams. Obviously, maybe made up a little bit differently, but they're really good and so are we.” - Stephen Vogt after his team’s loss against the White Sox in their game on Sunday. 

“It was a different level. His ability to execute the fastball, to get the fastball in different quadrants. We know he’s got the low slot and the ride, but you could tell today there were a lot of uncomfortable swings, which I think was a testament to his stuff.” - Derek Shelton after his team’s win against the Yankees in their game on Sunday. 

Travis Bazzana (L) 2B

Kahlil Watson (L) CF

Chase DeLauter (L) RF

Kyle Manzardo (L) 1B

Gabriel Arias (R) 3B

Cooper Ingle (L) DH

Daniel Schneemann (L) SS

Patrick Bailey (S) C

Steven Kwan (L) LF

Austin Martin (R) LF

Byron Buxton (R) CF

Kody Clemens (L) 2B

Josh Bell (S) DH

Royce Lewis (R) 1B

Victor Caratini (S) C

Brooks Lee (S) 3B

Ryan Kreidler (R) SS

Luke Keaschall (R) RF

Batting Average:  Austin Hedges (.281)

Hits:  Brayan Rocchio (81)

Home Runs:  Angel Martínez (11)

RBI:  Chase DeLauter (41)

Stolen Bases:  José Ramírez (24)

Wins:  Gavin Williams (9)

Saves:  Cade Smith (26)

ERA:  Logan Allen (0.00)

Batting Average:  Gabriel Gonzalez (.500)

Hits:  Byron Buxton (83)

Home Runs:  Byron Buxton (25)

RBI:  Josh Bell (60)

Stolen Bases:  Luke Keaschall (12)

Wins:  Taj Bradley (7)

Saves:  Yoendrys Gómez (8)

ERA:  Kendry Rojas (1.65)

Managers:

Cleveland Guardians: Stephen Vogt (3rd season)

Minnesota Twins: Derek Shelton (1st season)