In the first of a two-game series between the Minnesota Twins (34-30) and the St. Louis Cardinals (34-30) at Target Field, Tommy Milone (2-1, 4.15 ERA) and Carlos Martinez (7-2, 2.93 ERA) take the mound. The Cardinals enter this series on a five-game winning streak. The game gets underway at 8:10 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Jun. 17 and will air on FSN-MW and FSN-N.
In his most recent outing, Milone pitched 7.0 innings, allowing two runs, striking out eight and walking one in a 6-2 loss to the Rangers. Brian Dozier (.265, 52 Rs, 13 HRs, 32 RBIs, 4 SBs) went 1 for 4 yesterday with one run and one stolen base. The Cardinals were victorious the last time Martinez pitched. He had a good outing, pitching, going 6.1 innings, giving up two runs, striking out four and walking one in a 4-2 victory over the Rockies. Matt Carpenter (.291, 40 Rs, 8 HRs, 32 RBIs, 1 SB) has been hitting the ball well, going 2 for 3 yesterday with one run.
Minnesota, a +126 underdog, will look to capitalize at home against St. Louis. The matchup currently has an eight-run Over/Under (O/U). When playing as the underdog, the Twins have a 28-23 record and overall money line at +1,164. Over the last 10 games, they have performed poorly when playing as the underdog (2-6). Minnesota has averaged 2.4 runs per game over the last 10 games, lower than its season average of 4.2. As for the pitching staff, the Twins don’t give up many walks to opposing batters, leading the AL with only 2.4 walks allowed per game.
Switching to the opposing bench, the Cardinals come into this game with a solid win percentage of .750 when playing as the favorite (33-11) and an overall money line of +1,879. Over the past 10 matchups, they are 7-3 SU and have played well as the favorite with a 5-2 record. The Cardinals will be looking to pick it up in this one after recent offensive struggles. In their 10 most recent games, St. Louis’s run production has dropped to 2.9 runs per game, compared to 4.2 for the duration of the season. One of the top hitting teams in the NL are the Cardinals, who average 8.9 hits per game. The Cardinals are a problem for opposing batters, sporting an NL-low 2.64 ERA this season. They have a WHIP of 1.19 on the year, good for fourth in the league.
The previous two games have all gone St. Louis’s way. This game will feature Martinez (RHP) on the mound against the Twins, who have a 19-21 record when they take on a right-handed starter. Taking the hill against the Cardinals will be the left-hander Milone. They sport a 7-7 record against southpaws.
Predictions: SU Winner – STL, O/U – Over
Notes
When leading after 7 innings, St. Louis is 16-6, while Minnesota is 9-14.
The Twins managed to give up four walks in their last game. They’ll have to pick it up against the Cardinals who are coming in with a 16-10 record against opponents who give up that many walks or more.
It looks like the Cardinals have a slight leg up on the Twins, as the Cardinals have won their last five games while the Twins have lost their last two.
When they outhit their opponents, the Cardinals are 30-7. The Twins have a 23-1 record when outhitting opponents.
Ranking 20th, St. Louis sits in the bottom half of the league in runs, scoring 253 this season. Minnesota ranks in the top half at 14th with 267.
Ranking 23rd, Minnesota is near the bottom of the league in walks, notching 153 this season. St. Louis ranks in the top half at 11th with 198.
The Twins are 26-10 in games where they hit one or more home runs. The Cardinals are 26-8 when they hit at least one homer.
