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The Minnesota Twins and the Los Angeles Angels get set to square off in a day-night double-header on Thursday. It’s time to continue our MLB odds series and make a Twins-Angels prediction and pick.
Minnesota has had a rough go of it this season as they're 14-27, which is the worst record in Major League Baseball. Los Angeles is currently 18-24 and in fourth place in the American League West. In their sole matchup this season, the Angels defeated the Twins by a score of 10-3. The rest of the series was postponed due to COVID and is being made up in this double-header.
Here’s how sportsbooks have set the opening Twins-Angels odds.
MLB Odds: Twins-Angels Game One Odds
Minnesota Twins -1.5 (+160)
Los Angeles Angels +1.5 (-180)
Over 7 Runs (+100)
Under 7 Runs (-120)
Why The Twins Could Cover The Spread
The Minnesota Twins are having a disastrous season as they entered the year with high expectations. A team that was expected to compete for a third-straight AL Central title is now competing to get out of the gutter. The Twins are coming off of yet another series loss against the Chicago White Sox at the start of this week. The bats have gone ice-cold for Minnesota as they strung together just two hits in their last game against the Sox.
Minnesota is actually scoring runs this year. They're averaging 4.6 runs per game, which is good for seventh in baseball. The Twins are also seventh in the league with a .738 team OPS. Pitching has clearly been the problem for this club. Their 4.91 team-ERA in 27th in the Majors. The 5.13 ERA from the bullpen hasn't made helped their case what-so-ever. Minnesota will be forced to play without Byron Buxton, which will certainly put a damper on the Twins in this double-header.
Lewis Thorpe will get the nod in the first leg of the double-header. He will be making a spot start in his fourth outing of the young season. Thorpe is currently 0-1 with a 4.50 ERA in 10 innings of work. In his last appearance against the Rangers, the Twins right-hander allowed three runs on five hits over five innings.
Minnesota will have their ace on the bump in game two as Jose Berrios hopes to lead his club to victory. The hard throwing right-hander is 3-2 with a 3.74 ERA and 49 strikeouts this season. Berrios has worked deep into games lately, working through at least the sixth inning in each of his last four starts. The Twins ace will have to eat up innings for his club and avoid making the manager turn to the pen.
Why The Angels Could Cover The Spread
The struggling Los Angeles Angels just got a bit worse this past week. Mike Trout strained his calf and will now be out for at least six-to-eight weeks. The offense has already begun to struggle without its anchor. The Angels struggled to produce any sort of offense in their recent series against the Cleveland Indians. At 18-24 on the season, Shohei Ohtani will have to find a way to fill the void and continue to lead this team to the promise land.
Los Angeles has been producing at the plate this season as they are within the top-10 in runs per game and team OPS. They are averaging 4.51 runs per game, which is shocking when you think about the fact that this team is six games below .500. Ohtani currently leads the Majors in homers with 14 and has driven in a team-high 33 RBI. It's amazing to think about the fact that this team still hasn't invested in their pitching staff. The Angels hold the worst team-ERA in baseball at 5.28.
Alex Cobb will be activated from the IL to make the start in game one of the double-header. Cobb went on the IL on May 4th with a blister and is hoping that he'll come back with a live arm after the time off. He is 1-2 with a 5.48 ERA and 31 strikeouts on the season. The Angels right-hander is tasked with slowing down the Angels lineup and going deep into this seven-inning affair.
Los Angeles will turn to right-hander Griffin Canning for the second game. Canning is 3-2 with a 4.78 ERA in six starts this season. The Angels right-hander has shown flashes of dominance in his last three starts. He has reached the sixth inning or later and allowed two runs or less during that span. Canning is striking out a career-high 10.41 batters per nine innings, which will be crucial against an all or nothing lineup like the Twins.
Final Twins-Angels Prediction & Pick
The Los Angeles Angels will take game one of this day-night-double header. I don't see Thorpe being able to contain this lineup that is motivated to bounce back from a tough series against the Indians. Although Cobb has struggled this season, he is fresh and has less pressure on him as the game will only be seven innings. If Cobb can get deep and keep the ball away from the pen, look for the Angels to secure a comfortable victory.
I predict that the Twins will bounce back and secure the victory in game two of the series. Every team has an ace for this reason. It'll be Berrios' job to play the stopper role and dominate an Angels lineup without Mike Trout. If he can out-duel Griffin Canning, the Twins should win a low scoring affair.
Game One: Los Angeles Angels ML (-102)
Game Two: Minnesota Twins ML (-121)
