Minnesota (Santana) @ Oakland (Mulder)
Well I am going to play a rare run line here today with the Twins.
The Twins send out Johan Santana for the start today he has been extremely solid this year since coming out of the bullpen with a 3-1 record and a very impressive ERA of 1.86 and a WHIP of 1.103 he is 1-0 on the road with a 1.64 ERA and a WHIP of 1.091. This will be the first time that the A's will get a look at him as a starter.
Oakland counters with Mark Mulder he has a very solid record of 9-4 but has been the recipient of allot of run support as his 4.12 ERA is evidence of, he is 4-2 at home with an ERA of 4.19 and a WHIP of 1.279. Since '97 he has a 3-1 record against the Twins in 5 starts with an ERA of 2.16 with a WHIP of 1.470.
Minnesota struggled on the road at the beginning of the year but have really started to turn that around with last night's loss the first in their last 4 on the highway. The offense is averaging 4.5 runs a game against left-handed starters this year, they are hitting them a little better in their last 10 games with an average of .272 as a team while allowing their opponents to score 4.7 a game while committing a low 45 errors on the year. The bullpen has been worked allot lately but got a little rest last night as Reed went 7 innings and they have been solid on the road with an ERA of 2.83 and a WHIP of 1.170.
The Oakland offense is averaging 5.2 runs a game against lefties but are only managing a low on base percentage of .354 and are only batting .215 as a team in their last 10 games against them while allowing the opposing team to score 4.7 runs a game and the bullpen has not exactly been a bright spot blowing 10 games this year and managing an ERA of 4.02 at home.
Bottom line is that Mulder has gotten allot of run support and I think Santana may hold the A's batters down as he has only averaged giving up 1 earned run a game in his last 3 starts and is backed up by the better bullpen in my opinion so I will take the Twins on the run line at a low price.
Playing Minnesota +1.5 -123