Twins vs. Rays Pick
Can the Tampa Bay Rays defend their home turf once again when they take on the Minnesota Twins tonight at 7:10PM ET?
According to oddsmakers at Bovada.lv, the Rays are favored at home, as they are getting odds of -140 to win. The Twins are listed with a money line of +130 to prevail, while the over/under total for the game has been set at 9.5 runs.
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The pitching matchup for tonight has Bartolo Colon (4-2, 4.09 ERA) on the mound for the Twins to face Jake Odorizzi (7-7, 4.85) of the Rays. Colon is coming off a 3-run, 10-hit outing against the White Sox in his last start. Colon has 75 strikeouts on the season with 30 walks and a 1.64 WHIP. Odorizzi has struggled lately as well, allowing 13 runs over his last three starts. This season, Odorizzi has 97 strikeouts with 52 walks and a 1.36 WHIP.
These two opened their series on Monday and Tampa Bay picked up an 11-4 win. The Rays have now won three of four games with the Twins this year. The Rays sit at 69-70 on the season and 35-33 at home while the Twins are now 71-66 overall and 36-29 on the road.
Jose Berrios was lit up once again for Minnesota on Monday, allowing five runs over five innings to take his 7th loss of the season. Alex Cobb pitched 5.2 innings and allowed one run to get his 10th win of the year. The Rays were led at the plate by Logan Morrison, who had three hits with his 36th home run of the season. He drove in two. Evan Longoria added two hits and drove in three runs. Brian Dozier led the Twins with his 28th home run of the season and two RBI.
Both pitchers today have struggled, but Colon has actually been on an upward trend. August was his best month of the season, posting a 3.40 ERA with a 4-1 record over six starts. Odorizzi had a 6.45 ERA in August with a 1-3 record over five starts. Tampa Bay can’t count on him to do much today, especially against a Minnesota lineup that seems to be hitting a stride in recent weeks. Colon has the capability of putting up a good start. It doesn’t mean he will, but he is more likely and also has the more potent lineup behind him.
MLB DAILY PREDICTION: MINNESOTA TWINS +130