The Minnesota Twins (76-64) travel to face off against the Kansas City Royals (76-65) on Friday, September 6th. This game will be played at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City and televised on APLTV. Both team’s come into this one having won their previous games. First pitch is set for 7:10 CT.
Twins vs. Royals Betting Prediction
- Money Line Prediction: Royals (-147)
- Over/Under Prediction: Over 7.5 Runs
- In the last 15 games, the Royals have scored 5 or more runs in 8 games, showing a strong offensive trend.
- The Royals have won 4 out of their last 5 home games, indicating a strong home-field advantage.
- In their last head-to-head game against the Twins, the Royals won with a score of 4-1.
- The Royals have a higher number of division wins (30) compared to the Twins (28), showing better performance within the division.
- The Royals have scored an average of 4.6 runs per game in their last 15 games, compared to the Twins’ 3.3 runs per game in their last 10 games.
Twins vs Royals
The Twins Are Coming Off A Win
Heading into their last game vs. the Rays, the Twins closed out the series with a 4-3 win. Leading up to the game, they were the heavy favorite at -156. It got tense at the end, as the Rays pulled to within one run in the 7th, but the Twins were able to close things out, and Jhoan Duran picked up the save.
Pablo Lopez put together a good start for the Twins, going 6 2/3 innings and giving up just three runs on seven hits. He only had one strikeout in the outing and got the win.
Minnesota has an over/under record of 19-16 in games with a total of 7.5 runs, and their games this season have averaged 9.2 runs when the total is higher than 7.5. The Twins are 37-34 against the run line on the road and 23-20 as underdogs vs. the run line.
The Twins are 76-64 overall and are four games behind the Guardians in the AL Central. They have a series record of 24-16-4 this season and are coming off a series split with the Rays.
Zebby Matthews Gets The Start For The Twins
Minnesota Twins’ right-hander Zebby Matthews is on the mound today against the Royals. Matthews has had a bit of a rough start to the season, as he has taken the loss in each of his first two starts. He did pick up a win in his first start of the season, which came at home against the Royals, but has since taken a loss to the Padres and the Blue Jays.
Twins Offense Breakdown
Carlos Santana and Ryan Jeffers are tied for the team lead in home runs this season, with 20 apiece. However, both players are batting under .240 for the season, with Santana coming in at just .238. Willi Castro is also near the top of the Twins’ home run leaderboard, with 11, and he has a batting average of .248. Byron Buxton is batting .275 for the season and has 16 homers, which is 2nd on the team.
Over his last eight games, Carlos Santana has gone just 5/24, but two of those hits have been home runs. Jose Miranda has been swinging the bat well, going 9/28 in his last eight games. Currently, Santana is on a three-game hitting streak, while Carlos Correa has a four-game streak going.
The Royals Are Coming Off A Win
Led by a big game by Tommy Pham at the plate, the Royals are coming off a 4-1 win over the Guardians to close out their series. Pham went 2/4 with three RBIs and a homer. The Royals really broke things open with a four-run 4th inning. Looking at the betting lines going into the game, the Royals were the slight underdog at -128.
Seth Lugo started for the Athletics, going seven innings and giving up just one run on six hits. He only had four strikeouts in the outing and got the win.
When the Royals win, they tend to win big, with an average run margin of 4.0 runs per game, but when they lose, it’s often by a close margin, with an average run differential of -3.4 runs per game. Their run line record is 77-64, and they have been a good bet at home, going 40-32 against the run line.
Kansas City is 4.5 games behind the Guardians for the lead in the AL Central and trail the Twins by a half-game for the 2nd spot in the division. They have an overall record of 76-65 and have struggled recently, going 3-7 in their last ten games. The over has hit in 83.0% of their games this season, with an average combined run total of 8.9 runs.
Cole Ragans Gets The Start For The Royals
Kansas City is sending left-hander Cole Ragans to the mound today vs. the Twins. He has made 28 starts this season and has a record of 10-9 with a 3.46 ERA. Ragans’ WHIP for the season is currently 1.17. In his last outing, he took the loss, giving up five earned runs in five innings of work vs. the Astros. Before that, he had pitched well, going 7 innings and giving up just one earned run vs. the Twins. Ragans has one complete game and 17 quality starts this season. His ERA at home is 5.64 compared to 3.18 on the road.
Royals Offense Breakdown
Heading into today’s game, the Royals are averaging 4.8 runs per game, which is good for 10th in the league. They have been even better at home, putting up 5.1 runs per game. Overall, they are batting .254 as a team, which is 6th in the league, and are also one of the top home run hitting teams in the league. Kansas City has been led by Bobby Witt Jr. and Vinnie Pasquantino, who are 1st and 4th on the team in batting average, respectively.
Witt Jr. has been especially good of late, going 5/18 in his last five games with two homers and two RBIs. For the season, he is hitting .339 and has 97 RBIs, which is 6th in the league. Salvador Perez and Pasquantino are also near the top of the league in RBIs, as they are also tied for the team lead with 97 RBIs.
Twins vs Royals Prediction
Our prediction for today’s Twins vs. Royals game is that the Royals will pick up a 6-5 win. Given that they are at -147 on the money line, this is the way we would recommend playing this one.
Offensively, we have the Twins finishing with more hits than the Royals, and they also have more home runs. However, the Royals are projected to strike out the second fewest times in the league today, and the Twins are 19th.
All odds are courtesy of Action247 Sportsbook. Good luck!!
* All odds are provided by Action247 Sportsbook and all odds subject to change.**All views expressed are my own. My picks are my own and are not a guarantee, bet at your own risk.Action247 does not warrant the accuracy of completeness of the information, text, graphics, links or other items contained within these post.
Last updated:September 6, 2024 Royals, Twins