Twins vs. Athletics Pick
Who will grab the rubber match later today when the Minnesota Twins meet up with the Oakland Athletics at 4:05PM ET?
According to oddsmakers at BetDSI, Oakland is the clear favorite, as the Athletics are getting odds of -200 to win, while the Twins are listed with a money line of +180 to prevail. The over/under total for the game has been set at 9 runs.
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The pitching matchup today has Bartolo Colon (0-1, 7.00 ERA) on the mound for the Twins to face Jharel Cotton (5-8, 5.17) of the Athletics. Cotton has allowed at least three runs in nine of his last 10 starts. He has recorded 67 strikeouts with 32 walks this season and has a 1.41 WHIP. Colon hasn’t looked great in his two starts with the Twins, allowing seven earned runs in nine innings. He has given up 16 hits with five strikeouts and no walks.
The Twins took the series opener on Friday, 6-3. Oakland followed that up with a 5-4 win on Saturday to even the series. The Athletics are now 45-59 overall and 29-24 at home while Minnesota is 50-52 overall and 27-21 on the road.
Saturday’s game saw the Twins establish a 4-1 lead in the fifth, only to see Oakland rally and eventually score two runs in the ninth to win. Rajai Davis hit the walk-off home run in the ninth, his fourth hit of the game. Taylor Rogers blew his third save of the season by allowing the home run. Ryon Healy had a pair of hits and drove in a run for Oakland while Miguel Sano had his 24th home run of the season for the Twins.
Oakland is heavily favored today, but I don’t see why. I think on paper the Athletics have a good matchup, but not enough to be a -200 favorite. Cotton certainly hasn’t been a lockdown pitcher. Colon hasn’t been good, but he hasn’t been getting lit up for 10 runs each start. The Twins also have been good on the road this season and are a better overall team than Oakland when push comes to shove. I say take a chance on the Twins as the big underdog.
MLB DAILY PREDICTION: MINNESOTA TWINS +180