At 1:35 PM ET, the Twins and Pirates will square off in an interleague matchup. This one is being played at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, and the Pirates are slight money-line favorites (-108). The money line odds for the Twins are sitting at -110, and the over/under line is at 8 runs.
Minnesota comes in with a record of 33-31 but is currently on a five-game losing streak. The Pirates are 31-33 and have won two straight. SN PT will be televising this one, and the forecasted temperature in Pittsburgh calls for broken clouds and temperatures in the upper 60s.
Minnesota vs. Pittsburgh Matchup At A Glance
- Teams: Twins at Pirates
- Where: PNC Park Pittsburgh
- Date: Sunday, June 9th
- Betting Odds MIN -110 | PIT -108 O/U 8
Twins vs Pirates Last Game Recap
Pittsburgh cruised to a 4-0 win over the Twins in the most recent game of this series. The Pirates had a huge 8th inning, scoring three of their four runs. As for the Twins, they had their best chance to score in the 7th, but could only push across one run.
Carmen Mlodzinski only went 1 2/3 innings for the Pirates but didn't give up a run and struck out one. Hunter Stratton got the win out of the bullpen. Simeon Woods Richardson had a good outing for the Twins, giving up just one run in 6 1/3 innings of work.
Rowdy Tellez was the difference for the Pirates, as he homered and drove in three runs. Andrew McCutchen also had a three-hit game and scored two runs. Bryan Reynolds scored the other Pirates run and had two hits.
Twins Preview
Minnesota has been struggling, entering this game on a five-game losing streak, and they are 8.5 games behind the Guardians in the AL Central. The Twins have a 33-31 overall record and are looking to turn things around today against the Pirates.
Against the run line, the Twins are 17-18 on the road and 11-18 at home. Their average run differential is -0.2, and they have gone under the total in 10 of 16 games with an 8-run line. Overall, the Twins have gone over the total in 27 of their 62 games this season.
Right-hander Bailey Ober is getting the start for the Twins today as he faces the Pirates on the road. He has made 12 starts this year and has a record of 5-4 with a 4.93 ERA. Opponents have hit .232 off Ober this year, and his WHIP is currently 1.13. In his 12 starts, Ober has turned in four quality starts, and his ERA on the road is 11.3 compared to 4.26 at home. Ober's most recent outing came against the Yankees, where he gave up three earned runs in five innings of work. He took the loss in that outing.
Heading into today's game, the Twins are averaging 4.2 runs per game, which is 18th in the league. They have been a better offensive team on the road this season, averaging 4.6 runs per game. As a team, the Twins are batting .229, which is 16th in the league, and have the 11th best slugging percentage in the league. One thing to keep an eye on is their ISO, as they are 4th in the league in this category.
Carlos Santana has really struggled this season, batting just .217, but he has two homers in his last seven games and is hitting .261 over that stretch. Ryan Jeffers is the team's leading home run hitter with 12, but he is batting just .233 for the season and has gone 3/23 in his last eight games. Jeffers does lead the team with 36 RBIs.
Pirates Preview
As underdogs, the Pirates have a 22-19 record this season and have won two straight games in that role. Overall, they are 31-33 and trail the Brewers by seven games in the NL Central. Pittsburgh has a 7-7 record in divisional games and are 16-16 at home, 15-17 on the road.
Against the run line, the Pirates have a 37-27 record and are 20-12 on the road and 29-12 as underdogs. Their over/under record for the season is 33-30, and they are 9-9 in games with an O/U line of 8 runs.
Jared Jones will be looking to build off his last outing, where he didn't give up a run and picked up the win. In that start vs. the Dodgers, he went six innings. For the season, he has made 12 starts, and his ERA is 3.25. Looking at his home/away splits, Jones is 2-2 with a 2.0 ERA at home compared to 4-3 with a 4.89 ERA on the road. Opponents are batting .213 off Jones this season, and he has turned in eight quality starts. Per nine innings, he is averaging 9.87 strikeouts and just 1.95 walks.
So far this season, the Pirates are averaging 4.1 runs per game, which is 19th in the league. They have been slightly better on the road (4.2 RPG) than at home (4.0 RPG). As a team, they are batting just .231, and their team on-base percentage of .301 is also below average. The Pirates have been good at drawing walks this season and have the 7th fewest strikeouts in the majors.
Bryan Reynolds and Oneil Cruz come into the game as the Pirates' top home run hitters, with 8 and 9 homers, respectively. Reynolds is also the team's current leader in RBIs. Reynolds is also on a seven-game hitting streak and has gone 11/35 in his last eight games. Cruz has two homers in his last six games but is batting just .217 in that stretch.
Twins vs. Pirates Prediction: Twins ML -110
Our predicted final score for this Twins vs. Pirates matchup is 5-4 in favor of the Twins. With the Twins on the money line at -110, we see this as a great value pick. Looking at the starting pitchers, our projections have Bailey Ober finishing with five strikeouts, which has him ranked 13th among all starters.
As for Jared Jones, we have him finishing with five strikeouts, which has him ranked 20th among starters. Offensively, we have the Twins finishing with nine hits, which has them ranked 12th in the league today.
As for the Pirates, we have them finishing with eight hits, which has them ranked third to last in terms of hits today. Their starting pitcher, Jared Jones, has one of the worst projections, with him finishing with the most earned runs among today's starters.
