Cardinals vs Twins – MLB Odds & Picks

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The Minnesota Twins signed free-agent pitcher Homer Bailey this offseason, and he will make his Twins debut on Tuesday night in an interleague matchup against the St. Louis Cardinals. Minnesota opened as a slight MLB favorite.

Cardinals vs Twins – MLB Odds & Picks

• When: Tuesday, 8:10 PM ET
• Where: Target Field
• Probable pitchers (away/home): Carlos Martinez/Homer Bailey
• TV: MLB Extra Innings
• Stream/gameday audio: https://www.mlb.com/live-stream-games/
• Opening MLB Lines: Twins -115, Cardinals -105 (total 10.5)

The Cardinals took two of three at home vs. Pittsburgh over the weekend, dropping the finale 5-1 on Sunday. Tommy Edman had the lone Cardinals RBI with a run-scoring infield single in the third inning. Through the first three games of the season, Edman is hitting .231 (3-for-13) with no runs scored and three RBIs. He has reached base safely in his last 21 games dating back to Sept. 10, 2019, 2nd-longest active in MLB.

St. Louis hasn’t had reliever Giovanny Gallegos yet but is expected to activate him from the injured list Tuesday. Kwang-Hyun Kim is serving as the Cardinals’ closer right now, but Gallegos is capable of pushing him.

Beginning Tuesday, the Cardinals embark on a seven-game, nine-day road trip through Minnesota,), Milwaukee (July 31-August 2) and Detroit (August 3-4). Right-handed pitcher Jake Woodford and infielder Max Schrock are scheduled to be added to the club’s traveling Taxi Squad, and both would make their Major League debuts if they appear.

Since Interleague play began in 1997, the Cardinals lead all MLB teams in batting average (.296) and on-base percentage (.369), and rank 2nd to the Boston Red Sox (.514, .882) in both slugging pct. (.504) and OPS (.873) from their designated hitters. Matt Holliday (9 HR in 119 AB), Albert Pujols (4 HR in 50 AB) have hit the most home runs all-time as a Cardinals designated hitter. Among active Cardinals, Brad Miller (9 HR in 102 AB) has the most homers at designated hitter, followed by Matt Wieters (4 HR in 183 AB).

It’s Carlos Martinez on the mound in his first rotation appearance since July 30, 2018 vs. Colorado. Martinez lifetime is 5-4 with a 1.86 ERA and four saves (96.2 IP) in 26 career games (13 starts) in interleague matchups. His 1.86 ERA is the lowest lnterleague mark among active pitchers (min. 96.0 IP).

Martinez 3-3 career with a 1.85 ERA (48.2 IP) in 11 games (seven starts) against the A.L. Central. His 1.85 ERA is the 3rd-lowest against A.L. Central teams among active pitchers (min. 48.0 IP). The Twins are the only A.L. Central opponent Martínez has not recorded a win or save against in his career.

The Twins took two of three at the White Sox over the weekend, blasting the Pale Hose 14-2 on Sunday. Nelson Cruz homered twice, doubled twice and drove in seven runs. Cruz doubled and rode home on Jake Cave’s grand slam in the opening inning then delivered a bases-clearing double in the second inning to extend the Twins’ lead to 7-0. He was only getting started. Cruz crushed a solo shot off of Gio Gonzalez leading off the fourth inning, then finished things off with a three-run blast off of Kelvin Herrera in the eighth.  He finished the day 4-for-5 with four runs scored and seven RBIs. He’s hitting .538/.571/1.385 with three homers and 10 RBIs on the young season.

Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said Sunday of Byron Buxton (foot) that there’s a “good chance he’s playing in the very near future.” Buxton went through another workout Sunday at the team’s alternate training site. When asked whether the outfielder would be ready to play in Tuesday’s home opener, Balldelli said it was “definitely an option.” Catcher Willians Astudillo (COVID-19) has been cleared to resume workouts.

It’s Homer Bailey on the mound. Homer Bailey surrendered four runs in three innings last Wednesday against the Cubs in an exhibition game. He gave up three homers, two of them to Willson Contreras. The 6-foot-4 native of La Grange, Texas will be the Twins’ third consecutive starting pitcher that wasn’t on the 2019 Opening Day Roster, joining Randy Dobnak and Kenta Maeda. Rich Hill, who is scheduled to start on Wednesday, would stretch the streak to four starters. The 34-year-old Bailey split last season between Kansas City and Oakland after spending his first 12 major-league seasons in Cincinnati. He was 13-9 with a 4.57 ERA.