Wei-Yin Chen (7-6, 3.20 ERA) and Tommy Milone (6-3, 3.65 ERA) take the hill in the second of a four-game series between the Baltimore Orioles (62-58) and the Minnesota Twins (60-61) at Camden Yards. The Twins won the last game 15-2 and Minnesota leads the series 1-0. Action begins at 7:05 p.m. ET on Friday, Aug. 21 and can be seen on FSN and MASN.
Chen pitched 6.0 innings in his most recent start, surrendering two runs and striking out seven in an 18-2 win over the Athletics. Chris Davis (.261, 71 Rs, 34 HRs, 89 RBIs, 2 SBs) continued his strong play yesterday, going 2 for 3. Milone went 5.0 innings, surrendering one run, striking out three and walking three in a 4-1 win over the Indians in his last outing. Brian Dozier (.246, 84 Rs, 25 HRs, 62 RBIs, 10 SBs) has been successful at the plate for the Twins, going 2 for 5 yesterday with one run and one RBI.
Baltimore is a -169 favorite against Minnesota and the Over/Under (O/U) for this game is sitting at eight runs. The Orioles have an overall money line of +207 and a record as the favorite of 40-27. Baltimore is an impressive 6-1 as the favorite over its last 10 games. The Orioles have no trouble scoring as they rank fourth in the AL in home offense with 5.0 runs per game. Crossing over to the pitching staff, the Orioles are the second-best team in the AL at limiting walks during home games, allowing only 2.3 walks per game to their opponents this season.
In games where it is the underdog, Minnesota has a 44-51 record and an overall money line of +845. They played poorly as the underdog over their last 10 games with a 1-5 record, and a 4-6 record SU. When it comes to issuing walks, the Twins have the fewest in the AL with only 2.5 walks allowed per game.
The Twins have the edge in the season series, 4-0. The Orioles have a 17-11 record against left-handed starting pitchers on the year, which is what they’ll be facing when Milone takes the mound. Chen (LHP) will be on the hill against the Twins, who have a 21-20 record against left-handed starting pitchers.
Predictions: SU Winner – Bal, O/U – Over
Notes
Minnesota has won 45% (18-22) of its games when leading after 7 innings. However, Baltimore has won 59% (24-17) of its games when taking a late lead.
The Twins are coming into this game after allowing two walks during their last outing. The Orioles have a 37-37 record when opponents give up that many walks or fewer.
When they outhit their opponents, the Orioles are 45-11. The Twins have a 43-6 record when outhitting opponents.
Both falling in the top 10 of the league based on total runs this season, Baltimore ranks seventh with 536 runs and Minnesota is 10th with 522.
Baltimore and Minnesota both rank near the bottom of the league in walks. Baltimore sits at 26th with 290 this season and Minnesota ranks 24th with 301.
The Orioles are 55-31 when they hit at least one home run. The Twins perform similarly when they hit one or more homers with a 46-27 record.
