Red Sox vs. Twins Pick
Can Minnesota Twins pick up another upset win at home when they face the Boston Red Sox today at 2:10PM ET?
According to oddsmakers at Bodava.lv, Red Sox are favored on the road, as they are getting odds of -165 to win. The Twins are listed with a money line of +145 to win, while the over/under total is set at 9 runs.
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The pitching matchup today has Rick Porcello (1-4, 4.46 ERA) on the mound for the Sox to face Nick Tepesch of the Twins. Porcello has lost his last four outings, but not all of them have been poor. He allowed eight earned runs and four home runs to the Rays back in mid-April. That has really impacted his ERA. He still has 39 strikeouts with just nine walks this season. Tepesch is making his first start of the season. He appeared in just one game last year, a 4-inning, 5-run effort for the Dodgers.
Minnesota took the first game of the series on Friday night, 4-3. The Twins have won four of their last six against the Red Sox, dating back to last season. Minnesota is now 15-12 overall and 8-8 at home. The Red Sox are 15-14 overall and 4-7 on the road.
The Twins led nearly the whole game on Friday, but still needed a walk-off effort in the bottom of the ninth after giving up two runs to the Sox in the top of the final inning. Joe Mauer played hero by hitting the solo home run in the ninth. That saved Brandon Kintzler, who gave up two runs and three hits in his save attempt. Boston had some good pitching, as the staff combined for 10 strikeouts.
It’s hard to know what to expect from Tepesch today, as he has limited outings in the last two years. Porcello’s ERA looks higher than it should because of one really poor outing. He has been pretty steady otherwise, just hasn’t had great run support. Porcello should be able to limit the damage this Minnesota team does and his hitters should be able to take advantage of the mistakes Tepesch makes.
MLB DAILY PREDICTION: BOSTON RED SOX -165