Twins vs. Royals Pick
Can the Minnesota Twins go on the road and avoid a loss to the Kansas City Royals when the two open a weekend series tonight at 8:15PM ET?
According to oddsmakers at BetDSI, the Royals are the slight favorite at home tonight, as they are getting odds of -120 to win. The Twins are listed with odds of +100 to prevail, while the over/under total for the game has been set at 8.5 runs. These two have met eight times this season and the Twins have won seven of the eight encounters.
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The pitching matchup tonight has Ervin Santana (10-4, 2.80 ERA) on the mound for the Twins to face Jason Vargas (11-3, 2.29) of the Royals. Santana has been a little hot-and-cold lately. He went six scoreless against the Indians in his last start, but had allowed 11 runs in the two previous. He has 81 strikeouts with 36 walks and a 1.05 WHIP on the year. Vargas has been very strong for KC lately, allowing two runs or less in five of his last six starts. He has 70 strikeouts with 20 walks and a 1.13 WHIP this season.
The Twins are coming off losing three of four to the Red Sox in Boston. Minnesota is 40-37 overall and 24-12 on the road. The Twins are putting up 4.54 runs per game in 2017 while allowing 5.13 per contest. Miguel Sano has been leading Minnesota this season with 18 home runs and 53 RBI. Brian Dozier is adding 13 home runs, 35 RBI and 10 stolen bases.
Kansas City is coming off a series loss to the Tigers and they have dropped three of their last four games. The Royals are now 38-39 overall and 21-18 at home. KC is putting up 3.99 runs per game this season while allowing 4.43. KC is being led by Salvador Perez, who is hitting .289 with 16 home runs and 48 RBI. Mike Moustakas is adding 20home runs with 47 RBI.
Santana has been the ace for Minnesota, but has been prone to some poor outings. Vargas has been on a real hot streak for the Royals. He and the team have won his last six starts, which includes wins over the Astros and two over the Indians. As much as I like Santana, I feel better about Vargas right now. The Royals aren’t a great lineup, but their scoring has been up over the last few weeks. I think they can give Santana some problems while Vargas shuts down the Minnesota hitters.
MLB DAILY PREDICTION: KANSAS CITY ROYALS -120