Twins vs. Tigers Pick
Who will take the rubber match when the Detroit Tigers and Minnesota Twins wrap up their weekend series today at 1:10PM ET?
According to oddsmakers at BetDSI, the Twins are favored on the road, as they are getting odds of -120 to win. The Tigers are listed with a money line of +100 to prevail, while the over/under total has been set at 10 runs.
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The pitching matchup this afternoon has Ervin Santana (12-7, 3.27 ERA) on the mound for the Twins to face Matthew Boyd (5-6, 5.64) of the Tigers. Santana has been hot and cold for a while. He had a complete game against the Padres on Aug. 2, but then gave up four runs in six innings to the Brewers on the 7th. This year he has 119 strikeouts with 49 walks and a 1.11 WHIP. Boyd has been struggling lately, allowing at least three runs in his last 10 starts. He gave up six to the Pirates earlier this week in just four innings of work. Boyd has 64 strikeouts on the season with 33 walks and a 1.69 WHIP.
These two have split the first two games of the series. The Twins picked up a 9-4 win on Friday night and the Tigers answered with a 12-11 victory on Saturday. The Tigers are now 53-63 overall and 29-27 at home while the Twins are 58-57 overall and 31-24 on the road.
Saturday’s game had plenty of fireworks. The Tigers took a 5-0 lead in the first inning but then fell behind 11-6. Detroit rallied by scoring six runs over the final three innings, including a walk-off, two-run home run from Justin Upton. James McCann had a grand slam for the Tigers and drove in five runs. Jose Iglesias added a home run and three RBI. Joe Mauer led the Twins with two hits and five RBI. Bother starters lasted just 3.1 innings in the game as Jose Berrios gave up six runs while Jordan Zimmerman allowed seven.
Both teams had to use their pen quite a bit on Saturday, which should play a factor today. We have seen Santana has the ability to go a full nine innings, but Boyd simply doesn’t. Boyd is going to give up runs and the Tigers’ awful pen is already depleted. While Santana is capable of a bad outing, he is the more likely of the two starters to put together a quality start. Minnesota’s pen is also just a little more consistent, so I give the edge to the Twins today.
MLB DAILY PREDICTION: MINNESOTA TWINS -120