The action-packed scheduled slate of Monday evening baseball continues as the Minnesota Twins will meet up with the Oakland Athletics at the Oakland Coliseum. It is time to take a sneak peek at our MLB odds series, where our Twins-Athletics prediction and pick will be revealed.
The first-place Minnesota Twins enter play on Monday after garnering a series win at home against the Guardians after they disposed of them in the rubber match by a score of 3-1. Looking to help his squad win back-to-back games out west will be savvy veteran Chris Archer, who brings a 0-1 record with a 4.43 ERA into this matchup.
As expected this season, the A's sit at 15-22 on the season and currently occupy the last place spot in the American League West. Following consecutive losses to the Angels over the weekend, southpaw Zach Logue will get the start in hopes he can continue to build off a stellar campaign to this point with his 1.35 ERA through three appearances including two starts.
Courtesy of FanDuel, here are the Twins-Athletics MLB odds.
MLB odds: Twins-Athletics Odds
Minnesota Twins: -1.5 (+136)
Oakland Athletics: +1.5 (-164)
Over: 7.5 (-110)
Under: 7.5 (-110)
*Watch MLB Games LIVE with fuboTV (click for free trial)
Why the Twins Could Cover the Spread
The American League Central is officially up for grabs, and so far the Twins have both hands on the top spot 35 games into the 2022 MLB season. With a three-game lead separating them from the likes of the Guardians and White Sox, who are tied for second place, Minnesota can build off their lead by playing fundamentally sound against a struggling Oakland squad. While the Twins have done most of their damage at home, a win at the Oakland Coliseum will move them to 8-7 as the visiting team.
With a scuffling A's lineup in their sights, Chris Archer has the ability to look the part of a bonafide ace in this league from time to time. Even with his best days most likely behind him, Archer has been in the show long enough to know how to surgically dissect batters once he steps out on the rubber.
The former Ray and Pirate is still looking for his first victory heading into his seventh start of the year and will be tasked with a tremendous opportunity against an underwhelming Oakland offense.
Collectively, Minnesota has the fifth-best ERA in baseball at 3.34.
Switching gears to the bats, Minnesota is ranked 19th in runs scored with 137, but rates out a little higher as the 11th best group in batting average with a .238 mark. On a positive note, the Twins know how to hit against lefties, as they rank seventh in OPS when a southpaw takes the mound.
Expect the bats to pop off if the Twins are going to cover the spread in this very winnable matchup for Minnesota.
Why the Athletics Could Cover the Spread
As for Oakland, the Athletics are definitely teetering towards a rebuilding phase, as they shipped off many notable players in the offseason in exchange for youth and a fresh start. Losers of eight straight home games when coming into a matchup as the underdog, something needs to change in a hurry if Oakland wants to turn the ship around.
Just when you thought the Athletics were possibly gaining some steam in defeating the Tigers in three straight games, they played sluggishly versus the Angels, as they came out on the short end of things a trio of times in the four-game weekend series. While Los Angeles arguably could be the best all-around team that the American League has to offer, it was still discouraging to say the least.
Nevertheless, this is America's national pastime, a sport where any team can win any game based on a stellar pitching outing or a big-time performance at the plate by a position player. This is exactly what Oakland will need come Monday evening. If this is to happen, expect catcher Sean Murphy to continue his unprecedented hitting gallantry. Murphy only has four home runs and 18 runs driven in, but in a lackluster hitting lineup, those numbers currently lead the club.
As a team, the A's are slashing as woefully as it gets. Oakland is dead last among all MLB teams in batting average, slugging percentage, and on-base percentage.
The reason why Oakland doesn't have the worst record in all of baseball has been because of the pitching staff which has tossed more efficiently than not through 37 games. Looking to lower their team ERA at 3.45 will be Logue, who has only faced the Twin one time. During that outing, Logue fired five innings and only gave up two runs. The 26-year-old from Ohio has little room for error, so a masterful outing will be needed for the A's to cover the spread and ultimately win in this one.
Final Twins-Athletics Prediction & Pick
Although the odds aren't extremely lofty, the Twins at -1.5 is a wise pick here. Minnesota rakes against lefties, and this should not change Monday in the Bay Area. If there is a time for Archer to get his season back on track, this is the game to do it in.
Final Twins-Athletics Pick: Twins -1.5 (+136)
Follow Us
Subscribe