New York Yankees at Minnesota Twins Betting Preview
Thursday features the finale of a three-game series between first-place teams as the New York Yankees (40-16, first in AL East) take on the Minnesota Twins (33-25, first in AL Central). The Twins will host this one at Target Field, with the first pitch scheduled for 7:40 pm ET.
After splitting the first two games, Thursday’s finale will be a rubber match. On Wednesday, the Twins took Game 2 8-1.
Chris Archer picked up the win for the Twins after going five innings, allowing just one run on two hits. He walked four and struck out two.
Byron Buxton went two for four with his 13th home run of the season. Jose Miranda also had a big night, going three for four with three runs batted in.
Nestor Cortes was roughed up in this one for the Yankees as he gave up four runs on seven hits in just 4.1 innings of work.
Aaron Hicks had two hits for the Yankees, but they were hampered by the fact that their first four hitters went a combined 0 for 13.
Despite playing on the road, the Yankees are heavy favorites Thursday. They are -205 to win while the Twins’ moneyline sits at +172. The runline features Minnesota +1.5 (+104), and the over/under for total runs is 8.5.
Yankees Try To Stay Hot With Ace On The Mound
At 40-16, the New York Yankees not only have the best record in their division, but they have the best record in all of baseball. Currently leading the AL East by seven games, they will try to add another win with their ace on the mound.
Gerrit Cole will toe the rubber for New York in the finale. This season, he is 5-1 with a 2.78 ERA and 0.96 WHIP, and he has 81 strikeouts in just 64.2 innings of work.
He picked up the win in his last outing against the Tigers, going seven scoreless innings, allowing two hits, and striking out nine. In his last three games, he has allowed a combined six earned runs while striking out 30.
Offensively, Aaron Judge is setting himself up for a really nice payday as a free agent at season’s end. He is currently hitting .311/.383/.675 with 22 home runs, 45 runs batted in, and 46 runs scored. He leads the team in all three of those categories.
Judge has also had a lot of success against the Twins’ Dylan Bundy. In 19 career at bats, he is hitting .263 with three home runs and four runs batted in. Aaron Hicks, Joey Gallo, and Isiah Kiner-Falefa have also homered off of the righty.
Twins Look To Stay Hot At Home
The Minnesota Twins have been one of the bigger surprises in baseball thus far as they are leading the AL Central by 4.5 games with a 33-25 record. While they have been mediocre on the road (15-13), they will try to stay hot when playing at Target Field (currently 18-12 at home).
Taking the mound for Minnesota is righty Dylan Bundy. In nine games, the 29-year-old righty is 3-3 with a 5.57 ERA and 1.45 WHIP, and he has 36 strikeouts in 42 innings of work.
Bundy was roughed up a bit in his last start against the Toronto Blue Jays. He lasted just 2.1 innings and gave up five runs on eight hits while striking out just two. He will look to bounce back against a red-hot Yankees team.
On Wednesday, the Twins welcomed back their big free-agent signing, Carlos Correa, from the COVID-19 list. In 143 at bats this season, the shortstop is hitting .280/.348/.406 with three home runs, 16 runs batted in, and 19 runs scored.
The hottest hitter for the Twins has been Byron Buxton. The star center fielder is hitting .224/.307/.526 with 13 home runs, 24 runs batted in, and 30 runs scored in 156 at bats.
No Twins’ player has a ton of success off of Gerrit Cole in their careers, although Jorge Polanco has taken him deep once while Gary Sanchez has two hits and two runs batted in against the righty.
Take The Yankees To Win And Cover
While Gerrit Cole is capable of shutting any lineup down, the Minnesota Twins have enough firepower to scratch across a couple of runs against the righty. The real problem for Minnesota in this one, though, is that they may not be able to keep up with the Yankees’ potent lineup if they can get to Dylan Bundy.
Bundy has been inconsistent at best and coming off of a rough start; he is not getting any breaks as he faces a Yankees lineup that ranks fourth in runs per game (4.87) and has hit the most home runs in all of MLB (83).
There is a reason the Yankees are the favorites in this one. There may not be much value in taking New York on the moneyline, but the better play here is to take them covering the -1.5 runline (-125).
