Tommy Milone (9-5, 4.04 ERA) and Yordano Ventura (12-8, 4.20 ERA) start in the second of a three-game series between the Minnesota Twins (83-77) and the Kansas City Royals (93-67) at Target Field. The Royals won the last game 3-1 and Kansas City leads the series 1-0. Action begins at 1:05 p.m. ET on Saturday, Oct. 3 and can be seen on FOX.
Milone pitched 5.2 innings in his most recent start, surrendering two runs and striking out four in a 4-2 win over the Indians. Eddie Rosario (.269, 60 Rs, 13 HRs, 50 RBIs, 11 SBs) went 1 for 4 yesterday with one run. Ventura went 7.0 innings, surrendering zero runs, striking out six and walking one in a 1-0 defeat to the Cubs in his last outing.
Kansas City takes on Minnesota as a -116 favorite. The Over/Under (O/U) for the matchup is sitting at eight runs. The Twins have an overall money line of +2,241 and a record as the underdog of 63-60. Within its division, Minnesota has an 11-8 as the underdog and a 40-34 SU. The Twins are the second-best team in the AL at limiting walks to their opponents, allowing only 2.5 walks per game so far this season.
Over in the other dugout, Kansas City is coming in with an overall money line of +1,704 and an impressive record of 56-37 as the favorite. They have been playing solid baseball as favorite with a 25-21 record against AL Central rivals, and a 42-32 record SU. The Royals are tough outs for opponents, ranking third in the AL with 9.2 hits per game. The Royals are an excellent base stealing team with 103 stolen bases, ranking fifth in the MLB.
The Royals lead the season series, 10-7. The Twins have a 55-50 record against right-handed starting pitchers on the year, which is what they’ll be facing when Ventura takes the mound. Milone (LHP) will be on the hill against the Royals, who have a 30-26 record against left-handed starting pitchers.
Predictions: SU Winner – KC, O/U – Over
Notes
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Minnesota’s last 7 games.
Minnesota is 5-2 SU in its last 7 games.
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Minnesota’s last 7 games at home.
Minnesota is 3-7 SU in its last 10 games at home.
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Minnesota’s last 5 games when playing Kansas City.
Minnesota is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Kansas City.
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Minnesota’s last 6 games when playing at home against Kansas City.
Minnesota recorded at least two errors for the 17th time this season.
Having scored one run in their last game, the Twins are going to have to up their game if they want to win this matchup. The Royals have a 31-1 record in games where opponents scored that many runs or fewer.
When they are outhit, the Royals are 14-57. The Twins have a 17-64 record when opponents outhit them.
Ranking 24th in home runs, Kansas City has hit 138 this season. Minnesota ranks 16th with 156 home runs.
Ranking 14th, Minnesota is in the top half of the league in hits, notching 8.35 per game. Kansas City ranks in the top five at third with 9.24.
Ranking 22nd, Minnesota is near the bottom of the league for its on-base plus slugging percentage (.709). Kansas City ranks in the top 10 at 10th with an OPS of .736.
The Royals are 41-51 when they allow at least one home run. The Twins perform similarly when they allow one or more homers with a 44-58 record.
