Phil Hughes (0-4, 4.39 ERA) and Shane Greene (3-1, 3.00 ERA) take the hill in the last of a three-game series between the Minnesota Twins (9-11) and the Detroit Tigers (14-7) at Target Field. The Twins won the last game 3-2 and the series is currently tied 1-1. Action begins at 1:10 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Apr. 29 and can be seen on FSN-DET and MLB Network.
Hughes is 7-7 with a 4.07 ERA in his appearances against the Tigers, and goes up against a good Detroit offense which is batting .281 this season. Kurt Suzuki (.241, 5 Rs, 2 HRs, 8 RBIs) continued his strong play yesterday, going 2 for 2 with one RBI. Against the Twins, Greene is 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA, 0.62 WHIP, and five strikeouts.
Detroit takes on Minnesota as a -117 favorite. The Over/Under (O/U) for the matchup is sitting at eight runs. The Twins have an overall money line of -95 and a record as the underdog of 8-10. Minnesota has had a discouraging season against division opponents, earning records of 6-9 and 6-10 as the underdog and SU respectively.
Over in the other dugout, Detroit is coming in with an overall money line of +720 and an impressive record of 10-5 as the favorite. They have been playing solid baseball as favorite with a 9-2 record against AL Central rivals, and an 11-2 record SU. Offensively, the Tigers have really picked up the pace in division games. They have exceeded their season average of 4.8 runs per game by averaging 6.1 in those contests. The Tigers are tough outs for opponents, ranking second in the AL with 9.7 hits per game. The Tigers are an excellent base stealing team with 23 stolen bases, ranking second in the MLB. Detroit’s pitching staff is one of the top in the AL, with a 3.72 ERA. When it comes to issuing walks, the Tigers have the fifth-fewest in the AL with an average of just 2.8 walks allowed per game.
The Tigers lead the season series, 4-1. The Twins have a 4-6 record against right-handed starting pitchers on the year, which is what they’ll be facing when Greene takes the mound. Hughes (RHP) will be on the hill against the Tigers, who have very good records against right-handed starting pitchers on the road and overall of 3-1 and 9-5, respectively.
Predictions: SU Winner – DET, O/U – Under
Notes
In their last game, the Tigers lost by a margin of one run. The Twins are 2-3 in one-run games. The Tigers have a 4-3 record in close games.
The Twins are 2-0 when they go into extra innings.
The Tigers are coming into this game after allowing one walk during their last outing. The Twins have a 2-6 record when opponents give up that many walks or fewer.
When they outhit their opponents, the Tigers are 12-1. The Twins have a 7-0 record when outhitting opponents.
Ranking 26th, Minnesota is near the bottom of the league in runs, scoring 67 this season. Detroit ranks in the top 10 at seventh with 97.
Ranking 21st, Minnesota is near the bottom of the league in walks, notching 55 this season. Detroit ranks in the top five at third with 77.
The Twins are 6-2 when they hit at least one home run. The Tigers perform similarly when they hit one or more homers with a 10-3 record.
