The Minnesota Twins (75-64) travel to face off against the Tampa Bay Rays (69-70) on Thursday, September 5th. This game will be played at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg and televised on BSSUN. The Rays are coming off a win in their previous game, while the Twins are looking to get back on track from a loss to the Rays. First pitch is set for 12:10 CT.
Twins vs. Rays Betting Prediction
- Money Line Prediction: Twins (-141)
- Over/Under Prediction: Over 7 Runs
- The Twins have scored 4 or more runs in 8 of their last 15 games.
- The Twins have won 3 of their last 4 road games.
- The Twins have a higher overall league rank (6th) compared to the Rays (10th).
- The Twins have a better away record (36-34) compared to the Rays’ home record (37-37).
- The Twins have scored 5 or more runs in 6 of their last 10 games.
Twins vs Rays
Tampa Bay cruised to a 9-4 win over the Twins in the most recent game of this series. The Rays had a huge 4th inning, scoring eight of their nine runs. As for the Twins, they scored four of their runs in the 7th. Heading into the game, the Rays were the slight underdogs at +103.
Cole Sulser only went two innings for the Rays but didn’t give up a run or a hit. He finished the game with just one strikeout and allowed one home run. Tyler Alexander got the win out of the bullpen. As for the Twins, Ronny Henriquez only went one inning and gave up zero hits and zero earned runs.
Yandy Diaz and Jose Caballero each had two hits and two RBIs for the Rays’ offense. Taylor Walls also had a two-hit game and drove in three runs. For the Twins, Carlos Santana hit the game’s only home run and drove in two runs.
Minnesota is 3-7 in their last ten games and trails the Guardians by 4.5 games in the AL Central. They have lost two straight and are down 1-2 in the series vs. the Rays.
When the over/under line has been set at 7 runs, the Twins have a 5-6 record. Their games have averaged 9.2 runs this season, and their over/under record is 71-64. Straight-up, the Twins are 59-37 as favorites and 16-27 as underdogs.
Pablo López Gets The Start For The Twins
Pablo López has been pitching well lately, as he has picked up the win in each of his last three outings. Most recently, he faced the Blue Jays and didn’t give up a run in 7 2/3 innings of work. Looking at his overall numbers, López has a record of 13-8 and an ERA of 4.05. For the season, he has made 27 starts, 15 of which were quality starts. López’s WHIP for the season is currently 1.12, and opponents are batting .237 off the right-hander this year. Per nine innings, he is averaging 9.48 strikeouts and just 1.91 walks.
Twins Offense Breakdown
Carlos Santana and Ryan Jeffers are tied for the team lead in home runs this season, with both players having gone deep 20 times. Jeffers is batting just .234, and Santana isn’t much better at .238. Byron Buxton is hitting .275 and has 16 homers, which is the 2nd most on the team. Willi Castro is batting .250 and is 3rd on the Twins with 52 RBIs.
Over his last five games, Santana has gone just 3/15, but he does have two homers in that stretch. Royce Lewis and Carlos Correa are both on nice hitting streaks for the Twins, with Lewis having a six-game streak and Correa at four.
Overall, the Rays have been a profitable run line bet, with a 70-69 record. As underdogs, they have a strong 46-28 run line record. Tampa Bay is 4th in the AL East, a half-game behind the Red Sox, and they have lost three straight series.
Today’s over/under line of 7 runs for the Rays-Twins game is lower than their average line of 8 runs. This season, the Rays have an over/under record of 63-69, with an average of 8.2 runs scored per game.
Taj Bradley Gets The Start For The Rays
Taj Bradley gets the start for the Rays today and will be looking to bounce back from a rough outing vs. the Padres. In that start, he gave up 8 earned runs in just 2 1/3 innings of work. Bradley took the loss in that outing. Before that, he had given up at least one homer in three straight starts. Bradley’s ERA for the season is 4.35, along with a record of 6-9. Opponents are batting .233 off the right-hander this season. Looking back over his last four starts, Bradley has allowed 18 earned runs and eight homers. His WHIP for the season is 1.22.
Rays Offense Breakdown
Yandy Diaz has been swinging a hot bat of late for the Rays, going 7/21 in his last six games with three homers. Overall, he is batting .276 and is the team’s leader in RBIs. Christopher Morel has struggled this season, hitting just .197, but he does lead the team with 21 homers.
As a team, the Rays are 28th in the league in scoring at 3.9 runs per game. They are also near the bottom of the league in home runs and batting average. Currently, they are 21st in home runs and have a team batting average of just .231.
Twins vs Rays Prediction
Our prediction for this Twins vs. Rays matchup is that the Twins will pick up the win by a final score of 5-4. Given that the payout for a Twins win is -141, this is the way we recommend playing this one.
Looking at some potential player props, we have Pablo López finishing with six strikeouts, which would have him finishing around the middle of the league in terms of starting pitchers. As for the Rays’ starter, Taj Bradley, he is projected to finish with six strikeouts as well.
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:September 5, 2024 Rays, Twins