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The Athletics make the trip to Minnesota to face the Twins! The Athletics have struggled a lot this season, while the Twins are competing for a playoff spot. They enter the series spiraling, while the Twins have been hot recently. Our MLB odds series has our Athletics-Twins prediction, odds, and pick for Friday.
Athletics-Twins Projected Starters
Mitch Spence vs. Simeon Woods Richardson
Mitch Spence (4-3) with a 3.68 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP
Last Start: Pitched seven innings and gave up two runs on five hits with zero walks and three strikeouts in an Athletics loss.
2024 Road Splits: (2-1) 2.84 ERA
Simeon Woods Richardson (2-1) with a 2.84 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP
Last Start: Pitched 6.1 innings and gave up one run on six hits with zero walks and six strikeouts in a Twins loss.
2024 Home Splits: (1-0) 2.25 ERA
Here are the MLB Odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
MLB Odds: Athletics-Twins Odds
Oakland Athletics: +1.5 (-146)
Moneyline: +150
Minnesota Twins: -1.5 (+122)
Moneyline: -178
Over: 8.5 (-105)
Under: 8.5 (-115)
How to Watch Athletics vs. Twins
Time: 8:10 pm ET
TV: Bally Sports North / NBC Sports California
Stream: fuboTV (Click for free trial)
Why The Athletics Will Cover The Spread/Win
The Athletics have struggled this season on their way to a 26-44 record. They have lost five straight heading into this series. The Athletics have struggled behind the plate and their pitching has not been much better, still ranking near the bottom of the MLB. JJ Bleday, Abraham Toro, Shea Langeliers, and Brent Rooker stand out despite the offense struggling. On the mound, Paul Blackburn, JP Sears, and Mitch Spence have been decent despite the staff struggling on the mound. The Athletics are not the disaster they were last season but have still struggled this season.
The Athletics are starting Mitch Spence on the mound and he has a 4-3 record, a 3.68 ERA, and a 1.15 WHIP. He has allowed 22 runs on 46 hits through 51.1 innings this season. In the 16 games that he has appeared in this season, the Athletics are 6-10. He has only started in five of the 16 games this season. The Twins have a below-average offense, so Spence gets a favorable matchup in this spot.
The offense for the Athletics has been the second-worst in the MLB this season. They are 29th in the MLB in team batting average at .221 after finishing at .223 last season which was the worst in the league. Abraham Toro and Brent Rooker lead the team in most batting categories. Rooker leads the way in batting average at .263, in home runs at 13, in RBI at 40, and in OBP at .346. Toro then leads the way in total hits at 68. They get a difficult matchup against Simeon Woods Richardson as pitcher for the Twins.
Why The Twins Will Cover The Spread/Win
The Twins are 36-32 and have won three out of their last four games. The Twins are around the middle of the pack and are slightly better with their pitching. Alex Kirilloff, Edouard Julien, Byron Buxton, Willi Castro, Carlos Santana, and Ryan Jeffers are some notable names on this Minnesota offense despite the struggles. On the mound, Joe Ryan and Simeon Woods Richardson are the names to watch despite the struggles they have dealt with on the mound.
The Twins are starting Simeon Woods Richardson on the mound where he has a 2-1 record, a 2.84 ERA, and a 1.09 WHIP. He has allowed 17 runs on 44 hits with 11 walks and 42 strikeouts through 50.2 innings. The Twins are 7-3 in the 10 games that he's started in so far this season. Simeon Woods Richardson has been solid as a pitcher this season and he gets a favorable matchup against the Athletics behind the plate because of how much they have struggled.
The offense for the Twins has been around the middle of the pack this season. They have jumped all over the place in the rankings but are 18th in the MLB in team batting average at .237 after having a .243 last season. Willi Castro and Ryan Jeffers lead the way for the Twins in most of their batting categories. Castro leads the way in batting average at .260, in OBP at .352, and in total hits at 59. Jeffers then leads the way in home runs at 12 and RBI at 36. This is an interesting matchup against Mitch Spence for the Athletics at pitcher because he has been solid, but has not started many games this season.
Final Athletics-Twins Prediction & Pick
The Twins are the better team in this game. Spence should provide some juice on the mound for the Athletics, but they will struggle behind the plate. Woods Richardson is the better pitcher and the Twins have the better offense. Expect the Twins to win and cover at home and extend the Athletics' losing streak.
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Final Athletics-Twins Prediction & Pick: Twins -1.5 (+122)
