The Twins and Yankees play the second game of their four-game series at Yankee Stadium on Friday night. It’s time to continue our MLB odds series and make a Twins-Yankees prediction and pick.
This series is one of the biggest mismatches in baseball all season. While the Twins have not met their playoff expectations and sit at 54-68, fourth place in the AL Central, the Yankees are in the midst of their best stretch of the season. New York has won seven consecutive games and sit just 5.0 games behind the Rays in the AL East standings. In the series opener, the Yankees defeated Minnesota, 7-5.
Here’s how the bookmakers have set the lines for Friday’s game.
MLB Odds: Twins-Yankees Odds
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Minnesota Twins (+200)
New York Yankees (-220)
Over 10 1/2 runs (-102)
Under 10 1/2 runs (-118)
Why The Twins Could Win
In August alone, Minnesota has taken two of three from Houston, two of three from the Chicago White Sox, and two of three from Tampa Bay. The Twins ability to pile up wins against some of the AL's best teams is extremely impressive, if not surprising too. But despite sitting near the bottom of the league's standings, they've somehow managed to beat better teams as of late. With Gerrit Cole pitching tomorrow and Jordan Montgomery pitching on Sunday, winning today against Nestor Cortes (1-1, 2.55 ERA) is basically a must if the Twins want to pick up a split (or better) of this series. Twins' starter Charlie Barnes will start tonight and he pitched very well against a dominant Rays lineup on August 15. Barnes threw 5.0 innings, allowing just one earned run on three hits and walking no batters. If Barnes can deliver a similar performance against another great AL East lineup, I believe the Twins magic against much better competition continues tonight.
Why The Yankees Could Win
In addition to their win last night over the Twins, the Yankees seven-game winning streak has included victories over the White Sox, Angels, and Red Sox. In fact, the Yankees have not lost since being walked-off out of Iowa on Tim Anderson's home run. Maybe the magic of that Field of Dreams ballpark did something good for these Yankees, who are peaking at the exact right time. September baseball is right around the corner and the Yankees are once again emerging as a serious threat to win the World Series. Cortes' last start on August 15 was one of his best of the season. In six innings, he allowed seven hits but just one earned one and also one walk, to go along with seven strikeouts. The Twins lineup is not nearly as good as the White Sox's and Cortes should have no problem throwing another gem. The Yankees are piling up wins fast and another home game against the Twins is a great way to grab another victory.
Final Twins-Yankees Prediction & Pick
While I understand the importance of heating up at the right time and the Yankees winning streak, the Twins recent success against really good ball clubs stands out significantly to me here. I'm not saying the Twins will win the series, but facing a young pitcher in Cortes tonight is the Twins best chance to win at least one game in this series. With the extreme plus money, the Twins are a very good upset pick tonight. Twins win the game outright.
FINAL PICK: Twins MONEYLINE (+200)
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