Kyle Gibson (2-2, 3.56 ERA) and Scott Kazmir (2-0, 1.62 ERA) take the hill in the third of a four-game series between the Minnesota Twins (14-13) and the Oakland Athletics (12-16) at Target Field. The Athletics won the last game 2-1 and the series is currently tied 1-1. Action begins at 8:10 p.m. ET on Wednesday, May. 6 and can be seen on CSN-CA and FSN-N.
Gibson pitched 8.0 innings in his most recent start, surrendering zero runs, striking out four and walking one in a 1-0 win over the White Sox. Brian Dozier (.248, 18 Rs, 2 HRs, 14 RBIs, 2 SBs) went 1 for 4 yesterday with one RBI. Kazmir is 7-4 with a 3.42 ERA against the Twins in his career. He is up against a good Minnesota offense that’s batting .257.
Oakland takes on Minnesota as a -118 favorite. The Over/Under (O/U) for the matchup is sitting at eight runs. The Twins have an overall money line of +472 and a record as the underdog of 11-10. Minnesota has gone 5-1 in its last 10 as underdog. The Twins have seen an uptick in scoring as of late, averaging 6.5 runs during the last 10 games compared to their season average of 4.3 runs per game. Crossing over to the pitching staff, the Twins are the second-best team in the AL at limiting walks during home games, allowing only 2.4 walks per game to their opponents this season.
Over in the other dugout, Oakland is coming in with an overall money line of -781 and a disappointing record of 6-11as the favorite. The Athletics are tough outs for opponents, ranking second in the AL with 9.4 hits per game. Oakland is excellent at not striking out with just 6.2 per game, ranking second in the AL. The Athletics allow 4.5 runs per game, but have damaged those numbers in the past 10 games, allowing 5.7 runs per game during that span.
The Twins have a 7-5 record against left-handed starting pitchers on the year, which is what they’ll be facing when Kazmir takes the mound. Gibson (RHP) will be on the hill against the Athletics, who have a 10-12 record against right-handed starting pitchers.
Predictions: SU Winner – OAK, O/U – Over
Notes
When leading after 7 innings, Oakland is 5-11, while Minnesota is 1-5.
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 Athletics have an 8-0 record in games where opponents scored that many runs or fewer.
When they are outhit, the Twins are 2-12. The Athletics have a 2-10 record when opponents outhit them.
Ranking 25th in home runs, Minnesota has hit 17 this season. Oakland ranks 11th with 25 home runs.
Minnesota and Oakland both rank in the top five of the league in hits. Minnesota sits at fifth with 8.92 hits per game and Oakland ranks second with 9.44.
Ranking 20th, Minnesota is in the bottom half of the league for its on-base plus slugging percentage (.675). Oakland ranks in the top 10 at 10th with an OPS of .734.
When the Athletics allow at least one home run, they are 2-11. When the Twins allow one or more homers, they have a 6-10 record.
