Twins-Cardinals prediction: Picks, odds on Wednesday, August 2

The Minnesota Twins (55-53) and the St. Louis Cardinals (47-61) will play the second game of their three-game series on Wednesday, August 2. First pitch from Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri is set for 7:45 p.m. ET. Minnesota will start Joe Ryan (9-7, 4.06 ERA), while St. Louis counters with veteran righty Dakota Hudson (1-0, 4.19 ERA).

The Twins are the -135 moneyline favorites at DraftKings Sportsbook. The Cardinals are the +114 underdogs, and the run total is set at nine.

Twins-Cardinals picks: Wednesday, August 2

Injury report

Twins

Out: RP Brock Stewart (elbow), 1B Alex Kiriloff (shoulder), 1B Jose Miranda (), 3B Royce Lewis (oblique)

Cardinals

Day-to-day: 2B Nolan Gorman (back)
Out: RP Jake Woodford (shoulder), 2B Brendan Donovan (elbow)

Starting pitchers

Joe Ryan vs. Dakota Hudson

Ryan will make his 22nd start of the season. He began 5-0 in April, but teams have either solved him at the plate or he has lacked consistency over the last few months. Most recently, he got rocked by the Seattle Mariners. Ryan pitched only 3.2 innings and allowed four earned runs on seven hits. He walked two and struck out seven but took the seventh loss of his season.

Hudson will make his eighth appearance and second start of the year on Wednesday. The starter-turned-reliever has looked better out of the ‘pen but struggled in his last outing against the Chicago Cubs. He came on in relief of Miles Mikolas and was tagged with five earned runs on nine hits in 4.1 innings of work. He struck out three and walked two but didn’t factor into the decision.

Over/Under pick

The Twins won the first game 3-2, ending the team’s five-game losing streak. They have scored three runs or fewer in back-to-back games but tallied at least five runs in the four games before that. The Cardinals have struggled to light up the scoreboard, scoring fewer than four runs in five straight games.

Pick: Under 9

Moneyline pick

Ryan should give Minnesota the edge on the mound, especially if the Twins’ lineup can get to Hudson early. With his longest outing of the season his last, it is likely a bullpen-heavy day for St. Louis. The Cardinals’ batting order has struggled to muster much offense, and as long as Ryan doesn’t have a meltdown, they shouldn’t be much of a factor on Wednesday.