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The Minnesota Twins are playing well against their own division this season. They are hitting particularly well against the Detroit Tigers.
The AL Central rivals continue a three-game series at Comerica Park on Saturday.
Oddsmakers from Sportsbook.com have made Detroit -156 money line favorites (MLB Odds) for tonight’s game, the over/under has been set at 9.5 total runs (Matchup). Current public betting information shows that 94% of bets for this game have been placed on Detroit -156 (View MLB Bet Percentages).
Minnesota (24-24) ended Detroit’s three-game win streak Friday with an 8-4 victory. Justin Morneau and Brendan Harris each drove in two runs, and Minnesota responded to a late rally by the Tigers to win for the third time in five games.
The Twins led 5-0 after six, but the Tigers (20-28) responded with four runs in the seventh – sparked by a two-run triple from Ivan Rodriguez. Minnesota, however, scored three times in the eighth and once in the ninth, improving to 14-8 against the AL Central while winning its fourth straight the Tigers.
Minnesota has outscored Detroit 31-12 while batting .324 (47-for-145) during that four-game win streak. Catcher Joe Mauer is batting .524 (11-for-21) with seven RBIs against the Tigers this season while Morneau is hitting .346 (9-for-26) with a homer and nine RBIs.
Every Twins starter had at least one hit on Friday, and four players had two. Minnesota, which finished with 13 hits, has averaged 7.0 runs in its last five games.
Twins manager Ron Gardenhire was happy to see his team cool the Tigers’ offense. Detroit entered Friday having scored 30 runs in a three-game sweep of Seattle.
"After seeing them score something like 40 runs in the last couple days, it’s just good to survive the first game here," Gardenhire said.
Detroit failed in a bid to match its longest winning streak of the season as starter Armando Galarraga struggled, allowing five runs in six innings.
"I say it all the time – momentum is only as good as your next day’s pitcher," said Tigers manager Jim Leyland, who was ejected in the seventh inning for arguing balls and strikes.
Detroit looks to bounce back when it hands the ball to Nate Robertson (1-5, 6.08 ERA), who is looking to snap a three-game winless streak. Robertson has lost his last two decisions, including Sunday at Arizona when he allowed four runs and seven hits in 5 2-3 innings of a 4-0 loss.
The left-hander is 7-8 with a 3.90 ERA in 19 career starts against the Twins. He allowed four runs and six hits in 6 1-3 innings against them on April 15, but did not receive a decision in the Tigers’ 6-5 win.
Minnesota counters with Boof Bonser (2-5, 5.25), who seeks his first win since April 29. Bonser is 0-1 with a 7.66 ERA in four starts in May, but the Twins have managed to win three of those games.
Bonser allowed four runs – three earned – and six hits in 6 1-3 innings on Monday against Texas in Minnesota’s 12-inning, 7-6 win. The right-hander is 2-0 with a 5.00 ERA in three starts against the Tigers. He allowed six runs in six innings against them on May 4 in his club’s 7-6 victory.
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