Astros vs. Twins Pick
Can the Houston Astros go on the road and defeat the Minnesota Twins when the two teams collide today at 2:10PM ET?
According to oddsmakers at Bovada.lv, Houston is the favorite on the road, as the Astros are getting odds of -130 to win. Minnesota is listed with a money line of +110 to prevail, while the over/under total is set at 9 runs.
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The pitching matchup for Monday has Ervin Santana (7-2, 1.80 ERA) on the mound for the Twins to face Brad Peacock (2-0, 0.87) of the Astros. Santana is coming off a 2-hit shutout of the Orioles last week for his second complete game shutout of the season. He has pitched 70 innings and allowed just 14 earned runs with 27 walks and 50 strikeouts. His WHIP is just 0.83. Peacock makes his second start of the season today. His first start lasted just 4.1 innings against the Tigers. He allowed just one hit and had eight strikeouts with two walks. The former reliever has pitched 20.2 innings this season, allowing just two earned runs with 30 strikeouts and 12 walks. His WHIP is 0.97.
Houston is coming off a three-game sweep at home of the Orioles. The Astros have now won six of their last seven games to get to 35-16 on the season. Houston is 15-6 on the road as well. The Astros score 4.88 runs per game while allowing 3.64. The Astros are being led by Marwin Gonzalez and George Springer, who each have 11 home runs. Jose Altuve is hitting .300 with seven home runs, 24 RBI, 12 doubles and 10 stolen bases.
The Twins dropped two of three at home to the Rays this weekend, but they are 7-3 in their last 10. Minnesota is 26-20 overall and 12-15 at home. Minnesota is averaging 4.53 runs per game this season while allowing 4.47. The Twins are being led by Miguel Sano, who has 11 home runs with 37 RBI. Joe Mauer is having a nice season thus far, hitting .283 with 10 doubles, three home runs and 18 RBI.
Houston has been looking good for a while now, but Peacock is a pitcher the Astros aren’t going to let pitch for very long. That’s not ideal when going up against Santana, who is capable of going a full 9 innings. Houston has a solid lineup, but Santana is making an early case for the AL Cy Young. I will take him at home as an underdog any day of the week.
MLB DAILY PREDICTION: MINNESOTA TWINS +110