Minnesota Twins at St. Louis Cardinals Betting Preview

The St. Louis Cardinals are hosting the Minnesota Twins this weekend for a three-game interleague series at Busch Stadium. St. Louis picked up a 5-1 win in the series opener and will be looking to win the series on Saturday night.

Minnesota was a popular pick to win the American League Central Division this season, but things fell apart in a hurry. The Twins come into this record with a record of just 43-61, and they became “sellers” at the Trade Deadline.

The Cardinals are another team that has been a major disappointment, but this team is still playing above the .500 mark. At 52-51, St. Louis is still in third place in the NL Central Division and trails the Milwaukee Brewers by 9.5 games.

The St. Louis Cardinals are the betting favorites at -138 in this matchup with the Minnesota Twins.

Twins Can’t Get Outs

The Minnesota Twins have a team ERA over 5.00, and they also just traded some of their top pitching talents away. Minnesota is not facing a dominant offense in this series, but they must find a way to get outs if they want to win this game.

Bailey Ober is scheduled to start on Saturday night, and he is 1-1 with a 5.19 ERA so far this season. This could be a game that features a lot of the Twins’ bullpen, and that hasn’t always been a good thing so far this season.

Minnesota does have a team slugging percentage of .430, which is one of the best marks in baseball. Some of that power went away with the trade of Nelson Cruz, but this team has some big bats in the middle of that lineup.

The best chance for the Twins to win this game is to try and outscore the Cardinals with some power.

Offense a Mystery For Cardinals

The St. Louis Cardinals have been one of the worst offensive teams in baseball this season, and it has been hard to explain. Nolan Arenado and Paul Goldschmidt have both been solid in the middle of the lineup, but there are just too many offensive holes.

Arenado leads the team with 20 home runs and 62 RBIs, and Goldschmidt has a team-high batting average of .272. Tommy Edman drove in three runs in the series opener on Friday night, and the Cardinals need more performances like this from the other starters.

Jake Woodford is set to start on Saturday night for St. Louis, and he has gone just 2-2 with a 4.25 ERA this season. St. Louis does have a dominant trio in the bullpen, and they can shut down a game with a lead.

Cardinals Top Twins Again

The Minnesota Twins waived the “white flag” months ago, and this roster just isn’t good enough to compete with the other top teams in baseball. St. Louis isn’t necessarily a top team, but the Cardinals are always tough to beat on their home field.

This could be a game that sees plenty of offense as neither team is sending a top pitcher to the mound to start on Saturday night. This type of game should favor the Twins normally, but it will be the Cardinals that break out the big bats tonight. St. Louis needs to get extremely hot to make a playoff run, and they win this one.

Bet the St. Louis Cardinals -1.5 as the offense will come alive for a second straight night against the Minnesota Twins.