AL Wild Card Betting Prediction: Minnesota Twins at NY Yankees

Toronto vs Minnesota MLB Spread Preview

Written by on May 18, 2016

The Toronto Blue Jays and the Minnesota Twins will get together in the first of a four game baseball betting odds series on Thursday in Minneapolis. Both these teams have been on a major struggle through the start of 2016. The Toronto Blue Jays come into the final game of the three game series against the Rays with a 19-22 record. The Rays are fourth in the American League East, and trail the first place Orioles and Red Sox by 6 games. For Minnesota, they are the worst team in the American League. The Twins have a 10-28 record, and that’s 13.5 games behind the first place Chicago White Sox in the American League Central.

How To Bet on the Blue Jays vs. Twins MLB Odds, TV and Game Info

When: Thursday, May 19, 8:10 PM ET Where: Target Field in Minneapolis TV: SNET, FS-N Pitching Matchups: Blue Jays: Marco Estrada (1-2) vs. Twins: Ervin Santana (1-2) MLB Odds: TBA

Why Bet the Blue Jays

The Toronto Blue Jays had high expectations coming into this season. This is much of the same team that went to the American League Championship Series a season ago. Toronto has not put the pieces together, and are 3 games under .500 on the season. The Blue Jays rank 17th in Major League Baseball in runs. Last season, they were the top scoring team in the league. The Blue Jays have a team batting average of .236, which is 24th out of 30 teams. Josh Donaldson is batting just .253, but leads the team with 9 homeruns, and has 21 runs batted in.

Why Bet the Twins

It’s hard to ever bet the Minnesota Twins. The Twins are not doing much of anything well in the first six weeks of the season. Minnesota has won just 2 out of their last 10 games. Those two wins came in back to back nights in Cleveland. The Twins are led offensively by Byung Ho Park with 9 homeruns, but has just 15 runs batted in. Minnesota’s Joe Mauer is batting .274 to lead the way. Minnesota ranks 28th in Major League Baseball with 138 runs, and also 28th with a 4.99 earned run average. The Twins are allowing opponents to bat .279 against them, which is 29th out of 30 teams.

My Expert Pick & Prediction

In this game, it’s Marco Estrada for the Toronto Blue Jays against Ervin Santana for the Twins. Estrada and Santana are both 1-2 on the season, but Estrada has a 2.89 earned run average. Santana has thrown 29.1 innings on the season, striking out 12 batters. This should be a better pitching match-up than most would have imagined. Neither team is getting great production out of their bullpen. This game is going to be a walk-off victory for the home team. Take the Minnesota Twins as the underdog in this game. Bet the Twins +133 over the Blue Jays on Thursday. The final score prediction: Twins 4 – Blue Jays 3