The Twins and Rays are facing off in an AL matchup at 1:10 PM ET at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg. Minnesota is 75-64 and they have Pablo Lopez on the mound, while the Rays are 69-70 and they will start Taj Bradley.
The money line odds have the Twins as the favorite, with their odds sitting at -141 compared to the Rays at +120. The over/under line is currently at 7 runs, and this game will be televised on BSSUN.
Minnesota vs. Tampa Bay Matchup At A Glance
- Teams: Twins at Rays
- Where: Tropicana Field St. Petersburg
- Date: Thursday, September 5th
- Betting Odds MIN -141 | TB +120 O/U 7
Twins vs Rays Last Game Recap
Tampa Bay cruised to a 9-4 win over the Twins in the most recent game of this series. The Rays had a huge 4th inning, scoring eight of their nine runs. As for the Twins, they scored four of their runs in the 7th. Heading into the game, the Rays were at +103 on the money line.
Yandy Diaz and Jose Caballero each had two hits and two RBIs for the Rays. Taylor Walls also had a three RBI game at the plate. Carlos Santana hit the game's only home run for the Twins, going 1/3 with two RBIs.
Cole Sulser only went two innings for the Rays but didn't give up a run or a hit. Tyler Alexander got the win out of the bullpen. Louie Varland had a rough outing for the Twins, taking the loss.
Twins Preview
Minnesota is 3-7 in their last ten games and trails the Guardians by 4.5 games in the AL Central. They are down 1-2 in the series vs. the Rays and have lost two consecutive games.
When the over/under line is set at 7 runs, the Twins have a 5-6 O/U record. Their games have averaged 9.2 runs this season, and their overall O/U record is 71-64. Straight up, the Twins are 59-37 as favorites, but against the run line, they are 43-53 in games where they've been favored.
Pablo López has been pitching well as of late, as he has picked up the win in each of his last three outings. Most recently, he faced the Blue Jays and didn't give up a run in 7 2/3 innings of work. Looking at his overall numbers, López has made 27 starts, and his record for the season is 13-8. The right-hander's ERA is 4.05, along with a WHIP of 1.12. For the year, he has a total of 15 quality starts, and his ERA at home is 4.63 compared to 4.91 on the road.
Carlos Santana and Ryan Jeffers are tied for the team lead in home runs this season, with both players having gone deep 20 times. Jeffers is batting just .234 for the season, while Santana is at .238. Byron Buxton is 2nd on the team with 16 homers and is batting .275. Buxton and Willi Castro are the only two Twins players to have batting averages above .250 and have at least 10 homers.
Over his last five games, Santana has gone 3/15 with two homers and four RBIs. Royce Lewis is also on a six-game hitting streak and is 2nd on the team with 16 homers. As a team, the Twins are 9th in scoring, averaging 4.8 runs per game.
Rays Preview
As underdogs, the Rays have a 34-40 straight-up record, and they are 46-28 against the run line. Overall, Tampa Bay's run line record is 70-69, with a 33-41 mark at home and 37-28 on the road. The Rays have an over/under record of 63-69 this season, and the average total line in their games is 8 runs.
Tampa Bay is currently 4th in the AL East, half a game behind the Red Sox. They have lost three straight series and are 4-6 in their last 10 games. The Rays trail the Orioles by 11 games for the division lead, with an overall record of 69-70.
Taj Bradley is hoping to bounce back from a rough outing vs. the Padres, as he gave up eight earned runs in just 2 1/3 innings of work. In that outing, he gave up two homers. Looking back over his last four starts, Bradley has given up at least two homers in three of them. His record for the season is 6-9, and his ERA is 4.35. Bradley's WHIP for the season is 1.22. Out of his 20 starts, he has eight quality starts and is averaging 9.93 strikeouts per nine innings. Bradley's ERA at home is 5.63 compared to 6.0 on the road.
For the season, the Rays are averaging just 3.9 runs per game, which is 28th in the league. They have been a little better on the road, averaging 4 runs per contest. Overall, they are one of the worst home run hitting teams in the league and are batting just .231, which is 19th in the MLB.
Yandy Diaz has been a bright spot for the Rays this season, as he is batting .276 and has gone deep 13 times. He is also coming off a stretch in which he has gone 7/21 with three homers in his last six games. Josh Lowe has also been swinging a hot bat of late, going 11/30 in his last eight games. Lowe also has a three-game hitting streak.
Twins vs. Rays Prediction: Twins ML -141
Our predicted final score for this Twins vs. Rays matchup is 5-4 in favor of the Twins. With the Twins being on the road, you can get them on the money line at -141, and this is our recommended bet.
Looking at some potential player props, Pablo Lopez is projected to finish with six strikeouts, and for the Rays, Taj Bradley is projected to finish with six as well. As for the Rays, they are projected to finish with 10 strikeouts as a team, compared to the Twins with nine.
