Twins prediction, pick, how to watch
It is an AL Central clash as the Chicago White Sox pay a visit to the Minnesota Twins. It’s time to continue our MLB odds series with a White Sox-Twins prediction, pick, and how-to-watch.
Twins pitching had been racking up the strike-ous against the Astros, leading Dusty Baker to call out his squad. The strike-outs cooled off on Sunday, as did the bats, in their loss to the Astros on Sunday. The White Sox are also coming in off a loss, falling to the Pirates 1-0 on Sunday. Currently, the White Sox sit 2.5 games behind the Twins in the Central Division, but it is still just April and a lot of baseball to be played.
Here are the White Sox-Twins MLB odds,
MLB Odds: White Sox-Twins Odds
Chicago White Sox: -1.5 (+146)
Minnesota Twins: +1.5 (-176)
Over: 7.5 (-105)
Under: 7.5 (-115)
How To Watch White Sox vs. Twins
TV: NBCSH/BSNO
Stream: MLB.TV
Time: 2:10 PM ET/ 11:10 AM PT
*Watch MLB games LIVE with fuboTV (click for a free trial)*
Why The White Sox Could Cover The Spread
The first question for the White Sox has to be whether will there be any repercussions from the benches-clearing brawl on Sunday. Secondly, the White Sox need to address their pitching. In their last six games, their ERA is 8.65, and they have given up more than ten runs three times. When they did get good pitching, like yesterday, they struggled to score. Yesterday, the White Sox managed just six hits, three of which came from DH Gavis Sheets. Tim Anderson saw his hot streak since his ejection come to an end, going 0-4. Still, the White Sox bats have been good this year. They are second in team batting average, first in hits, and fourth in runs batted in in all of baseball. They are also adding speed on the basepath with 12 stolen bases, good for third in MLB.
Leading the charge on the basepath has been Tim Anderson. He has five stolen bases already this year and combined with his .381 on-base percentage, he sets the table for this offense. Taking a stolen base prop bet on him daily is paying off on the year, and Anderson will look to continue his base stealing pace. The runs are being driven in by Luis Robert Jr., who has four home runs and ten RBIs on the season to lead the team. With Anderson getting on in front of him, Robert Jr. is driving him in regularly.
Tonight on the hill will be a Cy Young favorite. Currently second in the AL in Cy Young odds at +850, Dylan Cease takes the mound. Cease has been great this year in his two starts. He has pitched 11.1 innings with 18 strikeouts, a whip of just .71, and only two runs against him. His career against the Twins has been up and down, but his two starts last year saw Cease for 2-0 with two wins, one complete game, and no runs allowed.
Why The Twins Could Cover The Spread
Joey Gallo has not played since being pulled from Friday’s game but is still classified as day-to-day. Byron Buxton and Kyle Farmer both hit three-run home runs in their first game without Gallo to help pace the offense, but the team managed just two hits in their 5-1 loss to the Astros on Sunday. Gallo may be back for this match-up with the White Sox, but Max Kepler will not be. Kepler was placed on IL over the weekend. He had not been playing well on the season though, hitting just .125 the season.
To get back to their winning ways, the Twins need to get back to getting on base. Five different Twins who play regularly currently have on-base percentages over .350. This is led by Trevor Larnach who has an OBP of .439. Both catchers for the Twins are also playing well, with Ryan Jeffers and Christian Vazquez both having OBPs of over .450. The Twins need more than just a few guys to hit though. While they have multiple guys with solid OBP, the team OBP is .324, which is 18th in MLB.
Kenta Maeda gets his second start of the season and he pitched well in his first outing. He went five innings and gave up three hits. One of the hits was a home run, which gave Maeda the 1-0 loss to the Marlins. Maeda’s career against the White Sox is 2-1 with a 5.47 ERA. Last year was awful for him against the Chi-Sox though, going 0-1 in two starts, and giving up ten runs in 9.2 innings.
Final White Sox-Twins Prediction & Pick
This should be a pitching battle. The Twins would love to have Gallo back, but even without him, they have the guys who can put together enough hits to win. A player match-up to watch is Buxton and Anderson. Whoever has the better day between those two will probably see their team win. Regardless, both teams have shown they can struggle to score in games, and with two quality pitchers going head to head, this should be a tight and low-scoring affair.
Final White Sox-Twins Prediction & Pick: Twins +1.5 (-176) and Under 7.5 (-115)
