The Minnesota Twins will head south to face the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium. Fox Sports North will be showing this interleague matchup and the game gets underway at 8:10 p.m. ET.
Minnesota Twins at St. Louis Cardinals Odds
Vegas has listed St. Louis (-135) as the favorite over Minnesota (+125). The total sits at 8.5 runs and bettors can take the over for -120 and the under for +100. Runline odds sit at -170 for taking the Twins +1.5 runs and +150 for the Cardinals -1.5 runs.
The Cardinals are 20-12 SU and 16-15 ATS. The team’s gained 4.0 units for bettors taking the moneyline and 0.1 units against the spread (ATS). On the other hand, the Twins have gone 13-17 SU this year and are 16-13 ATS. In total, the team’s lost 6.0 units for moneyline gamblers in this young season, but have gained 0.7 units ATS.
St. Louis games have had an over/under record of 14-15-2 thus far in 2018. Minnesota has an over/under record of 17-12.
Fernando Romero will get the nod for Minnesota. The right-handed Romero is 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA and five strikeouts. He has yet to face the Cardinals this year and did not record a start against them in 2017, either.
The Cardinals will send righty John Gant (1-0, 0.00 ERA) to the mound. Gant has one strikeouts and zero walks to his name, as well as a 0.00 WHIP. Gant did not record a start against the Twins in 2017.
St. Louis’ pitching staff has given up 3.6 runs per game overall this season as a unit. The team’s starters have an ERA of 3.19, a WHIP of 1.25 and a strikeouts-per-nine of 7.9. The bullpen has a 3.38 ERA, 1.35 WHIP and 8.2 K/9.
The St. Louis offense is putting up 4.6 runs per contest, including 4.1 per game over its last 10 games and 4.2 per game over its last five. The team’s hit .223/.338/.410 over its last five matchups and is 5-0 SU during that span.
Tommy Pham and Jedd Gyorko have led the Cardinals’ batters so far. Pham is hitting .323/.442/.535 with five home runs, 14 RBIs, 24 runs and seven steals, and Gyorko’s line is .375/.500/.719 with 12 hits, six RBIs and eight runs.
Pham seemed to take a step back when hitting righties at home last year, slashing .257/.377/.355 across 183 such plate appearances (his total season line was .306/.411/.520).
For the visitors, Minnesota’s pitchers have allowed 5.3 runs per game and its starting pitchers own a 4.53 ERA, 1.37 WHIP and 9.06 K/9. The bullpen has an ERA of 5.56, along with a WHIP of 1.37 and a K-per-9 of 9.77.
Twins hitters have slashed .241/.317/.414 on their way to 4.3 runs scored per game in 2018, including 5.1 runs per game over the team’s last 10 games and 5.6 per game over the team’s last five contests (4-1 SU).
Minnesota’s offense has been led by shortstop Eduardo Escobar and first baseman Joe Mauer. Escobar is slashing .311/.364/.623 with six home runs, 18 RBIs and 20 runs scored, while Mauer (.291/.434/.388) has produced one homers, eight RBIs and 16 runs scored.
The Twins have lost 6.5 units and are 12-11 ATS when facing a righty starter this season. The over has cashed in 14 of those games, compared to nine that’ve gone under in such games. On the other hand, the Cardinals have netted 1.4 units and are 10-12 ATS when facing a right-handed starting pitcher. The over has hit in 10 of those games, as opposed to 10 that’ve gone under.
Minnesota Twins vs. St. Louis Cardinals Pick
Predictions: SU Winner – Cardinals, ATS Winner – Twins, O/U – UNDER
Notes
Betting Trends
The under has hit in four of St. Louis’ last seven games.
Minnesota has recorded 23.3 Runs + Hits + Errors per game over its last 10 contests and 22.8 over its last five.
The Twins have hit 14 home runs in their last 10 games, including eight over their last five.
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