Mike Pelfrey (1-0, 2.65 ERA) and Anibal Sanchez (1-2, 5.96 ERA) take the hill in the second of a three-game series between the Minnesota Twins (8-11) and the Detroit Tigers (14-6) at Target Field. The Tigers won the last game 5-4 and Detroit leads the series 1-0. Action begins at 8:10 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Apr. 28 and can be seen on FSN-DET and FSN-N.
Pelfrey is 2-3 with a 4.54 ERA in his appearances against the Tigers, and goes up against a quality Detroit offense which is batting .290 this season. Joe Mauer (.296, 4 Rs, 9 RBIs) went 1 for 4 yesterday with one run. Sanchez is 3-2 with a 2.30 ERA against the Twins in his career. He takes on a below-average Minnesota offense that’s batting just .228. Rajai Davis (.341, 11 Rs, 1 HR, 4 RBIs, 6 SBs) has been successful at the plate to the start the season for the Tigers, going 3 for 4 yesterday with three runs.
Detroit takes on Minnesota as a -127 favorite. The Over/Under (O/U) for the matchup is sitting at eight runs. The Twins have an overall money line of +five and a record as the underdog of 8-9. Minnesota has had a discouraging season against division opponents, earning records of 6-8 and 6-9 as the underdog and SU respectively.
Over in the other dugout, Detroit is coming in with an overall money line of +620 and an impressive record of 9-5 as the favorite. They have been playing solid baseball as favorite with an 8-2 record against AL Central rivals, and a 10-2 record SU. Offensively, the Tigers have really picked up the pace in division games. They have exceeded their season average of 4.7 runs per game by averaging 6.2 in those contests. The Tigers are tough outs for opponents, ranking second in the AL with 9.6 hits per game. The Tigers are an excellent base stealing team with 22 stolen bases, ranking second in the MLB. Detroit’s pitching staff is one of the top in the AL, with a 3.71 ERA. When it comes to preventing batters from getting hits, the Tigers are fifth in the AL with an average of 7.8 hits allowed per game.
The Tigers have the edge in the season series, 4-0. The Twins have a 4-6 record against right-handed starting pitchers on the year, which is what they’ll be facing when Sanchez takes the mound. Pelfrey (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
The Tigers won their last game by a one-run margin. In games decided by one run, the Twins are 1-3. The Tigers are 4-2 in close games this season.
In extra innings, the Twins are 2-0.
The Tigers are coming into this game after allowing two walks during their last outing. The Twins have a 2-10 record when opponents give up that many walks or fewer.
When they outhit their opponents, the Tigers are 12-1. The Twins have a 6-0 record when outhitting opponents.
Ranking 26th, Minnesota is near the bottom of the league in runs, scoring 64 this season. Detroit ranks in the top 10 at seventh with 95.
Ranking 20th, Minnesota is in the bottom half of the league in walks, notching 54 this season. Detroit ranks in the top five at third with 75.
When the Twins hit at least one home run, they are 6-2, well-matched with the Tigers who are 10-3 when hitting one or more homers.
