The Minnesota Twins (24-23) travel to face off against the Washington Nationals (21-25) on Tuesday, May 21st. This game will be played at Nationals Park in Washington and televised on BSN. The Nationals are coming off a win in their previous game, while the Twins are looking to get back on track from a loss to the Nationals. First pitch is set for 6:45 ET.
Twins vs Nationals
It was all Washington in the last game of this series, as the Nationals took down the Twins by a score of 12-3. The Nationals offense only had two more hits than the Twins and struck out eight times, but still picked up a convincing win. Heading into the game, they were at +135 on the money line.
This game featured a starting pitching matchup between Pablo López for the Twins and Mitchell Parker for the Nationals. López went just five innings while giving up seven hits and seven earned runs and took the loss. Parker put together a good outing, getting the win after going six innings and giving up three earned runs.
Washington’s two and three hitters, Luis García Jr. and Jesse Winker, each had a good game at the plate and scored three times. García Jr. also hit the game’s only home run. Eddie Rosario and Jacob Young each had two hits and two RBIs for the Nationals’ offense.
Minnesota is on a seven-game losing streak, and they are 24-23 overall this season. The Twins are 6.5 games behind the Guardians for the AL Central lead. So far, they have gone 12-10 in AL Central matchups. Minnesota lost the first game of this series vs. the Nationals and are just 2-8 over their last 10 games.
As the road team, the Twins are 13-12 this year, and they are an even 11-11 at home. So far, they have been really good as the favorite, going 19-11, and they are 5-12 as the underdog. Minnesota has been tough to beat as the road favorite, putting together an 11-3 record in those situations. The Twins’ overall series record is 7-6-2, and they lost two straight series.
The Twins are 23-24 against the run line this season, including a 14-11 record on the road. Their average run margin is -0.1 runs per game, and they have gone 15-15 against the run line as the favorite.
Minnesota’s over/under record is 22-24, and the average over/under line for their games is 8 runs. When the over/under line is set at 8.5 runs, the record is 2-9, and only 10.6% of their games have had higher lines. Their combined run average is 8.9 runs per game, and the over/under line for today’s game against the Nationals is set at 8.5 runs.
Joe Ryan Gets The Start For The Twins
Right-hander Joe Ryan is starting for the Twins today as he faces the Nationals on the road. He has made six quality starts this year and has a record of 2-3 with a 3.57 ERA. Ryan’s WHIP for the season is currently 1.02. In his last outing, he took the loss, going 5 1/3 innings and giving up four earned runs on six hits. Before that, he had won two straight starts. Ryan has been much better on the road, coming in with an ERA of 1.87 compared to 5.06 at home.
Twins Offense Breakdown
Heading into today’s game, the Twins offense is averaging 4.4 runs per game, which is 16th in the league. They have been a better offensive team on the road this season, averaging 5 runs per game. As a team, the Twins are batting .231, which is 15th in the MLB, and their team on-base percentage of .301 is 20th in the league. One thing to note is that they have been good at avoiding strikeouts this season, but they are also near the bottom of the league in terms of walks.
Ryan Jeffers comes into the game with the 10th most RBIs in the league and is also leading the Twins with 10 home runs. However, he is just 2/21 in his last six games. Carlos Santana and Edouard Julien are also tied for 2nd on the team with seven homers, but both have struggled with their batting averages this season. Willi Castro and Jose Miranda are both on good hitting streaks, with Castro going 3/11 in his last three games and Miranda going 5/20 in his last six games.
Washington is 21-25 overall and trails the Phillies by 12 games in the NL East. So far, they are 5-5 in divisional games. The Nationals will be hosting the Twins today with an overall record of 8-10 at home compared to 13-15 on the road.
The Nationals have dropped three straight series and have an overall series record of 5-9-1 this year. Washington has struggled over the last week, going 3-7 and have lost two straight series at the moment.
Washington has been a solid run-line bet this season, going 28-18 overall. They have been especially good on the road, where they are 18-10 against the run line. The Nationals have been a good bet as the underdog, going 25-16 against the run line. They have also been on a run-line winning streak at home, covering in their last four games.
Washington’s over/under record is 20-24, and their games have averaged 8.4 runs per game. Their over/under record when the line is set at 8.5 runs is 7-9, and 21.7% of their games have had higher lines than 8.5 runs. The over has hit in their last two games, with a combined 15 runs scored in their most recent game against the Twins.
Patrick Corbin Gets The Start For The Nationals
Washington is sending Patrick Corbin to the mound today vs. the Twins, and he is looking to bounce back from a rough outing vs. the White Sox. In that May 15th start, he took the loss, going 5 2/3 innings and giving up two earned runs. Looking back over his last four starts, Corbin has finished with a no-decision in three of them. This season, he has made nine starts, has a record of 1-4, and his ERA is 5.59. Opposing batters are hitting .319 off Corbin this season. Per nine innings, he is averaging 5.4 strikeouts and 3.35 walks.
Nationals Offense Breakdown
So far this season, the Nationals are averaging just 4.1 runs per game, which is 21st in the league. They have been even worse on the road, averaging only 3.9 runs per contest. As a team, they are batting just .228 and have the league’s 18th ranked home run total. However, they do have three players with at least 20 RBIs, including Luis Garcia Jr., who is batting .281 and has driven in a team-high 23 runs.
Washington’s most recent offensive surge has been led by CJ Abrams, who is hitting .278 over his last nine games. During this stretch, Abrams has scored four runs and has one RBI. Eddie Rosario has also been swinging the bat well of late, going 8/28 with three homers in his last nine games.
Twins vs Nationals Prediction
The best bet for today’s Twins vs. Nationals game is to take the Nationals on the money line at +159. We have the Nationals winning this game by a score of 5-4, giving us a good amount of value in taking them to win straight up.
Looking at the starting pitchers, we have Patrick Corbin finishing with four strikeouts, which has him as the eighth worst among starters. As for Joe Ryan, he is projected to finish with six strikeouts, which has him right in the middle of the pack.
All odds are courtesy of Action247 Sportsbook. Good luck!!
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Last updated:May 21, 2024 Nationals, Twins