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It is the final game of this three-game interleague series between the Minnesota Twins and Los Angeles Dodgers. It is time to continue our MLB odds series with a Twins-Dodgers prediction, pick, and how-to-watch.
The Twins are coming off the win yesterday after dropping the first game of the series in 12 innings. The Twins are now in first place in the AL Central, sitting at 24-19 on the season. They have won five of their last seven games, and been scoring plenty of runs in the process. Joey Gallo had two more hits last night against his former team and is continuing a small resurgence after his struggle from last year.
The Dodgers are also still in first place in their division, as they just had a six-game winning streak snapped by the loss. They have been winning with pitching during that period. In five of their last seven games, they have held opposing teams to two or fewer runs.
Here are the Twins-Dodgers MLB odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
MLB Odds: Twins-Dodgers Odds
Minnesota Twins: +1.5 (-164)
Los Angeles Dodgers: -1.5 (+136)
Over: 8.5 (-115)
Under: 8.5 (-105)
How To Watch Twins vs. Dodgers
TV: BSNO/SNLA
Stream: MLB.TV
Time: 3:10 PM ET/ 12:10 PM PT
*Watch Twins-Dodgers LIVE on fuboTV (click for a free trial)*
Why The Twins Could Cover The Spread
The Twins have been led by pitching this year. They have a team ERA of 3.32 which is good for third in the league. The opponent batting average of .220 is also second in the majors as well, while their 1.15 WHIP is tied for first. Sonny Gray returns to the mound for the Twins today. He is currently 4-0 with a 1.39 ERA. He has only given up over one run once this year, which was two starts ago as he gave up three to Cleveland. In four of his starts this year, he has given up just one earned run, while giving up zero earned runs in three of them. Gray has also yet to give up a home run this year.
Byron Buxton has started hitting better as of late. While he is hitting just .234 on the season, and only .188 in May, Buxton has two hits in each of the last three games. Those three games snapped a streak of seven games without a hit. Buxton is hitting better against right-handed pitching than left this year. With a right-hander on the mound today for the Dodgers, he may be able to continue his three-game streak. He is hitting .250 this year against righties, with seven home runs and 17 RBIs.
Leading the team in RBIs has been Trevor Larnach. He has 26 runs batted in this year, but only eight have come this month as he has batted just .174. Larnach has also hit better against right-handed pitching this year. He is hitting .242 against righties, with 20 of his 26 RBIs coming against right-handed pitching.
Why The Dodgers Could Cover The Spread
The Dodgers have been winning because of their power. The Dodgers are tied for second in the majors with 71 home runs this year and are second in the majors in slugging percentage as well. Leading them in terms of power has been Max Muncy. Muncy has 14 home runs this year so far, which is tied for the most in the majors. He is in a little bit of a slump though. He is hitting just .184 this month and has only three home runs. Two of the three came in game one of this series, but facing Sonny Gray today, it may be difficult for him to go yard again.
This could be an area that Freddie Freeman can step up though. He leads the team in doubles with 14 and has been hot this month. He is hitting .351 on the month, with eight doubles and three home runs. The result has been Freeman driving in 13 runs while scoring 14 of his own. Freeman has also excelled against right-handed pitching on the year. He is hitting .333 on the year against right-handed pitching, with two home runs and nine runs batted in.
Dustin May will be on the mound today for this game. He has also been pitching well today, with a 4-1 record and a 2.68 ERA on the year. He has given up two or fewer runs in seven of his eight starts on the year. His only poor start of the year was a 5.2-inning outing in which he gave up five runs to the Mets while giving up a home run. It was also the only homerun that May has given up all year.
Final Twins-Dodgers Prediction & Pick
The two pitchers taking the mound today have combined to go 87.1 innings and give up just one home run. In that time, they have a combined ERA of 2.16. This one will be a pitcher's duel. The Dodgers have had some good power this year, but that is the main way they are scoring runs. They are not hitting particularly well past that, and Gray has not been giving up the long ball. The Twins have been winning strictly on low-scoring games. This will be another low-scoring affair, and low-scoring games favor the team getting runs heavily.
Final Twins-Dodgers Prediction & Pick: Twins +1.5 (-164) and Under 8.5 (-105)
