Cleveland Guardians vs Minnesota Twins Prediction, Preview and Odds - 07/09/2026

Game Time: 7:40 pm ET, Thursday, July 9, 2026

Venue:  Target Field, Minneapolis, MN 

Where to Watch:  MLB TV

DraftKings:  Moneyline odds:  Guardians -131, Twins +109; Over/Under:  8.5 runs

Bet365:  Moneyline odds:  Guardians -130, Twins +110; Over/Under:  8.5 runs

BetMGM:  Moneyline odds:  Guardians -135, Twins +110; Over/Under:  8.5 runs

Cleveland Guardians:  47-45 (2nd place, AL Central)

Minnesota Twins:  45-47 (3rd place, AL Central)

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Cleveland Guardians:  5-5 last 10

Minnesota Twins:  7-3 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 47-45 record overall and have a road record of 23-23. This is the series finale of a 3-game series with the Twins on Thursday with the 2nd game still to be played on Wednesday. The Guardians lost the series opener on Tuesday. Their offense ranks 29th in the MLB with a .676 OPS. Slade Cecconi is their starting pitcher on Wednesday while Gavin Williams is making his start in this game on Thursday. He is 9-4 with a 3.89 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 3 ER, 1 HR, and 2 BB with 6 SO on 5 hits through 4.2 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 45-47 record overall and have a home record of 23-23. This is the 3rd game of a 3-game series with the Guardians on Thursday with the 2nd game of this series still to be played on Wednesday. The Twins won the 1st game of this series on Tuesday. Their offense ranks 7th in the MLB with a .738 OPS. Rookie pitcher Connor Prielipp is their starting pitcher on Wednesday while Bailey Ober is making his start in this game on Thursday. He is 6-3 with a 4.59 ERA this season. His team won 3 of their last 4 games this season with him making an appearance. In his last MLB regular season start, he allowed 7 earned runs, 3 homers, and 1 walk with 3 strikeouts on 12 hits through 4.2 innings pitched against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The current betting odds have the Guardians listed as a favorite in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. The Twins haven't looked good in their games this season with their 45-47 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 23-23 home record this season. Meanwhile, the Guardians have looked good in their games this season with their 47-45 record overall which has them right near the top of the AL Central. They haven't been a great road team though with their 23-23 road record this year. The Guardians haven't looked that great lately either, now 5-5 in their last 10 games while the Twins are 7-3 in their last 10 games and have been getting hot, but the Guardians do have the better pitching matchup in this one and they can take advantage of that. Williams is on the mound for the Guardians in this one and he has looked good this season. He is 9-4 with a 3.84 ERA and he leads the team in wins this year. He did give up 3 earned runs in his last start, but that hasn't been a common theme for him this year and the team has been having more success with him lately too, winning 2 games in a row now with him as the starter. The Twins are going with Ober in this one and he hasn’t looked great this season. He is 6-3 with a 4.59 ERA and the team has been having success with him, but he has also been giving up a ton of runs in his starts. The team has won 3 of their last 4 games with him starting, but he gave up 7 earned runs in his last start and that has been an issue for him. This is a very important series for the Guardians to stay ahead of the Twins in the division, so look for the Guardians to take advantage of this pitching matchup and get themselves back on track. The best way to place a bet here is on the Guardians to win this game. 

Guardians Twins Prediction:  Our MLB Pick for Thursday, July 9, 2026 (7:40 pm ET start time) is Guardians 5 Twins 3.

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Cleveland Guardians: 232-196 (+32.4 units) on the moneyline in all games. 109-104 (+21.7 units) on the moneyline in road games. 121-78 (+25.6 units) on the moneyline when the money line is -100 to -150. 16-10 OVER vs. good power teams - averaging 1.25 or more HR's/game.

Minnesota Twins: 197-219 (-44.4 units) on the moneyline in all games. 104-104 (-26.4 units) on the moneyline in home games. 70-98 (-9.4 units) on the moneyline as an underdog of +100 or higher. 22-12 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) Ten 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.

“He had his ‘A’ stuff tonight, but we need to keep working. We need to get better. We need to have better at-bats and string things together.” - Stephen Vogt on Taj Bradley after his team’s loss against the Twins in their game on Tuesday. 

“That’s a big out right there. That’s when you’re going, ‘All right, I’m going to give you my best stuff, and we don’t need contact.’ And he got that. It was really exciting to see.” - Derek Shelton after his team’s win against the Guardians in their game on Tuesday.

Travis Bazzana (L) 2B

Kahlil Watson (L) CF

Chase DeLauter (L) RF

Kyle Manzardo (L) 1B

Rhys Hoskins (R) DH

Brayan Rocchio (S) SS

Daniel Schneemann (L) 3B

Patrick Bailey (S) C

Steven Kwan (L) LF

Austin Martin (R) LF

Brooks Lee (S) 3B

Josh Bell (S) DH

Royce Lewis (R) 1B

Victor Caratini (S) C

Kody Clemens (L) 2B

Ryan Kreidler (R) SS

Luke Keaschall (R) RF

Kyler Fedko (R) CF

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 (8)

Saves:  Yoendrys Gómez (9)

ERA:  Kendry Rojas (1.65)

Managers:

Cleveland Guardians: Stephen Vogt (3rd season)

Minnesota Twins: Derek Shelton (1st season)