Red Sox vs. Twins Pick
Will the Minnesota Twins get run over at home by Chris Sale and the Boston Red Sox when the two meet up today at 2:10PM ET?
According to oddsmakers at Bodava.lv, Red Sox are favored on the road, as they are getting odds of -170 to win. The Twins are listed with a money line of +150 to win, while the over/under total is set at 7.5 runs.
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Sale (2-2, 1.38 ERA) is taking the mound for the Red Sox to face Ervin Santana (5-0, 0.66 of the Twins. Sale has gone at least 7 innings in all six starts this year and eight in the last three. He has given up just 7 earned runs in 45.2 innings of work and has 63 strikeouts with a WHIP of only 0.74. Santana has been pretty masterful himself, not allowing more than an earned run in any of his six outings. He has allowed only three runs in 41 innings of work, has 33 strikeouts and a 0.71 WHIP.
Minnesota took the first game of this weekend series, 4-3, on Friday. The Red Sox answered with an 11-1 win on Saturday. Boston comes into today 16-14 overall and 5-7 on the road while Minnesota is 15-13 overall and 8-9 at home.
Boston put up eight runs in the second inning of Saturday’s win and cruised from there. Nick Tepesch was out after recording just five outs and the bullpen allowed another four runs from there. Both Xander Bogaerts, Sandy Leon and Andrew Benintendi each had three hits in the win for the Red Sox. Rick Porcello threw seven innings, allowing just the one run on seven hits. He also had six home runs.
This is a great pitching matchup. Sale has been amazing, but gotten no run support. Santana hasn’t really needed any run support because he hasn’t allowed runs. It’s easy to understand why the Sox are favored with Sale and that lineup, but I think it’s worth wagering on Santana at home as an underdog. Minnesota has been getting hits in this series, the Twins just need to do a better job with runners on base. Runs will be at a premium today, so I feel good about the big underdog.
MLB DAILY PREDICTION: MINNESOTA TWINS +150