The Minnesota Twins (24-22) travel to face off against the Washington Nationals (20-25) on Monday, May 20th. This game will be played at Nationals Park in Washington and televised on MASN. Both the Twins and Nationals are looking to bounce back from losses in their previous games. First pitch is set for 6:45 ET.
Twins vs Nationals
The Twins will be looking to get back on track after closing out their series vs. the Guardians with a 5-2 loss. This was especially tough, as they held a lead going into the 9th inning before the Guardians scored three runs in the bottom of the 9th. Minnesota was the -105 favorite on the money line going into the game.
Chris Paddack was excellent for the Twins, going eight innings and giving up just two earned runs, and striking out six. However, the Twins couldnjson’t close things out, and Jhoan Duran took the loss out of the bullpen. The Twins also wasted a big game from Jose Miranda, who homered in the 1st inning, going 1/3.
Minnesota is 24-22 overall, and they are 5.5 games behind the Guardians in the AL Central. The Twins head into today’s game vs. the Nationals having lost six straight games, dropping their final three games before losing the first three games of this losing streak.
So far, the Twins have gone 12-10 in the division, and they are 19-10 as the favorite this year. As for their record as the road favorite, the Twins are 11-2. At home, Minnesota is 11-11 compared to 13-11 on the road. The Twins’ series record is 7-6-2, but they lost their most recent series vs. the Guardians.
Minnesota is 14-10 against the run line on the road this season, but they have failed to cover in their last two road games. They are 15-14 against the run line as the favorite, but just 8-9 as the underdog. Their average run margin in winning games is +3.6, while it is -3.8 in losing games.
Minnesota’s over/under record is 21-24 this season, and the average over/under line in their games is 8 runs. When the over/under line is set at 8 runs, their record is 4-7-1. The combined run average in their games this season is 8.8 runs per game. Their game against Cleveland yesterday had a combined total of 7 runs, which was under the 7.5 run line. Their game against Cleveland two days ago had a combined total of 15 runs, which was over the 7 run line. Their game against Cleveland three days ago had a combined total of 5 runs, which was under the 8.5 run line. Their game against New York four days ago had a combined total of 5 runs, which was under the 8 run line. Their game against New York five days ago had a combined total of 4 runs, which was under the 8 run line. Their game against New York six days ago had a combined total of 6 runs, which was under the 8.5 run line. Their game against Toronto seven days ago had a combined total of 6 runs, which was under the 8 run line. Their game against Toronto eight days ago had a combined total of 18 runs, which was over the 7.5 run line. Their game against Toronto nine days ago had a combined total of 5 runs, which was under the 7 run line. Their game against Seattle ten days ago had a combined total of 12 runs, which was over the 6.5 run line.
Pablo López Gets The Start For The Twins
Pablo López gets the start for the Twins today as he faces the Nationals on the road. He has made nine starts this season and has a record of 4-3 with an ERA of 3.93. So far, López has turned in five quality starts and is averaging 10.37 strikeouts per nine innings. In his last outing, he took the loss, going 6 1/3 innings and giving up three earned runs on 10 hits. Before that, he had won three straight starts. López has been much better at home this year, coming in with an ERA of 3.74 compared to 5.31 on the road.
Twins Offense Breakdown
So far this season, the Twins offense has been a little below average, averaging 4.4 runs per game (13th). However, they have been much better on the road, averaging 5.1 runs per contest. As a team, they are batting .231, which is 16th in the league, and their on-base percentage of .302 is also below average.
Ryan Jeffers has been the Twins’ top power threat this season, as his 10 homers are 5th in the MLB. He is also 8th in the league with 31 RBIs. However, Jeffers is just 2/18 in his last five games. Willi Castro and Edouard Julien are both looking to get going, as Castro is hitting just .259, and Julien is batting .210. Both players have three homers this season.
The Nationals will be looking to get back on track after closing out their series vs. the Phillies with an 11-5 loss. Washington was the +196 underdog on the money line going into this road game. Things started off well for the Nationals, as they got on the board with a run in the 2nd inning but gave up the lead right away as the Phillies scored in the bottom of the second.
Washington started Trevor Williams, and he took the loss, going 4 1/3 innings and giving up three earned runs on five hits. The Nationals’s offense scored their other two runs in the 4th inning and added another two in the 9th.
Washington is hosting the Twins today with an overall record of 20-25, and they have dropped five straight games. The Nationals are 4th in the NL East, and they trail the Phillies by 12.5 games in the division. Washington’s overall record vs. other NL East teams is 5-5 this year.
At home, the Nationals are 7-10 this year, and they are just above .500 at 13-15 on the road. So far, they are 3-2 as the favorite and 17-23 as the underdog, which includes going 6-9 as the home underdog. Washington’s series record is 5-9-1 this year, and they lost their most recent series vs. the Phillies.
Washington is 27-18 against the run line this season, including 9-8 at home. The Nationals have covered the run line in three straight games at home and are 3-2 against the run line as the favorite. Their average run margin is -0.4 runs per game, but they have covered the run line in 18 of 28 games on the road.
Washington’s over/under record is 19-24, and the average over/under line in their games is 8 runs. Their combined run average is 8.2 runs, and their over/under record when the line is set at 8 runs is 3-3-1. Overall, 57.8% of their games have had over/under lines set above 8 runs.
Mitchell Parker Gets The Start For The Nationals
Left-hander Mitchell Parker gets the start for the Nationals today as he faces the Twins at home. He has made six starts this year and has a record of 2-2 with a 3.09 ERA. Parker’s WHIP for the season is currently 1.12. In his last outing, he took the loss, giving up three earned runs in five innings of work to the White Sox. Before that, he had put together back-to-back quality starts. Parker’s only quality start came on the road, and his ERA at home is 1.59 compared to 4.08 on the road.
Nationals Offense Breakdown
Washington’s offense has been one of the worst in the league so far, averaging just 3.9 runs per game, which is 23rd in the league. They are also near the bottom of the league in home runs and have a team batting average of just .224. However, they do have a couple of guys who are among the league leaders in home runs, including CJ Abrams, who is batting .269 and has gone deep seven times.
Eddie Rosario has been one of the Nationals’ top power threats so far, but he is batting just .180 for the season and has gone just 4/19 in his last six games. Joey Meneses has driven in the most runs for the Nationals so far but is hitting just .219.
Twins vs Nationals Prediction
Our pick for this Twins vs. Nationals matchup is to take the Nationals on the money line at +139. We actually have the Nationals winning this one by a score of 5-4, giving us some good value on the money line.
Looking at the starting pitchers, Mitchell Parker is projected to finish with four strikeouts, which is fifth worst among today’s starters. As for Pablo Lopez, he is projected to finish with six K’s, which is seventh best. However, Lopez is 12th in terms of chances to pick up a win.
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:May 20, 2024 Nationals, Twins