Is Baltimore a Safe MLB Betting Pick Against Minnesota on Tuesday?

Posted by Kenny Bell on Monday,May 22, 2017 11:12, EDT in

It’s a matchup of aces in Game 2 of a series on Tuesday night when Minnesota visits Baltimore. Could be a playoff preview as well as those two clubs hold down the two AL wild-card spots as of this writing, although there’s clearly a ways to go. For the Twins, they’re coming off a 3 game series this weekend against the Kansa City Royals, which they won at 2-1. For Baltimore, they hosted the Toronto Blue Jays this weekend, taking the series at home at 2-1.The Orioles will be home betting favorites on Tuesday.

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Minnesota at Baltimore MLB Betting Preview & Game Info

When: Tuesday, May 23, 7:05 PM ET
Where: Camden Yards, Baltimore
Probable pitchers (away/home): Ervin Santana/Dylan Bundy
TV: MLB Extra Innings
Stream: MLB.tv
Radio: Minnesota / Baltimore
Opening MLB Lines: Orioles favored by TBA

Why Bet On Minnesota?

Young Miguel Sano continues to rake for the Twins. Sano went 2-for-4 with a two-run double and three total RBI in Sunday’s loss to the Royals. Sano picked up his first RBI on an infield single in the fifth inning. He would come through once more with a two-run double in the seventh. The 24-year-old third baseman is blossoming into a true star this season and is slashing .305/.431/.626 with 10 homers and 33 RBI across 131 at-bats entering this series.

The Twins put pitcher Phil Hughes on the DL on Sunday with shoulder trouble. Twins doctors will examine Hughes on Monday to determine the extent of the problem after he missed nearly the final four months last season with a broken fibula and thoracic outlet syndrome, the latter of which required rib-removal surgery in early July. Having shaved his ERA to 4.32 with a season-long 6 2/3 innings against the Boston Red Sox on May 5, Hughes has seen that mark spiral to 5.74 after working to a 9.22 ERA in his past three outings. In his past 13 2/3 innings Hughes has allowed 14 earned runs on 20 hits (five homers) and five walks, but he said the shoulder issue was mostly something that cropped up Sunday.

The Twins opened the 2016 season at Camden Yards and were swept in a three-games series. They finished 1-5 against the Orioles last year, after going 7-0 against them in 2015. Brian Dozier has yet to hit a home run at Camden Yards, the only AL East ballpark in which he hasn’t hit one.

Ervin Santana (6-2, 2.07) takes the mound for the Twins. Santana surrendered five runs in seven innings Thursday in a loss to the Rockies. Santana still hasn’t had a start this year in which he’s given up as many hits as innings pitched. He allowed six in seven innings vs. the Rockies. When he gave up six runs to Boston the start before that, he allowed five hits in six innings. In each of his other seven starts, he’s allowed no more than one run or four hits.

Why Bet On Baltimore?

Baltimore called up infielder Paul Janish from Class AAA Norfolk on Sunday and placed infielder Ryan Flaherty on the disabled list because of a right shoulder strain. Meanwhile, Brad Brach has handled most of the closing duties while Zach Britton recovers from a forearm strain. Britton, who led the AL with 47 saves last year, started playing catch late last week.

Adam Jones could make history here. He hit his seventh home run of the season, a solo homer in the fourth inning Sunday. The home run was the 124th of his career at Oriole Park, tying him with Rafael Palmeiro for the most in OPACY history; his 406 RBI are the most all-time at the ballpark. It was Jones’ fourth three-hit game and 12 th multi-hit game of the season.

Also Sunday, DH Mark Trumbo singled in his second and fourth at-bats for his third-straight multi-hit game and his 16th of the season; coming into play Sunday, he was tied for fifth in the American League in multi-hit games. He has hit safely in eight-straight home games, hitting .441 (15-for- 34) during this stretch.

It’s Dylan Bundy (5-2, 2.97) on the mound. Bundy allowed six runs on eight hits and four walks while striking out just three batters over six innings during Thursday’s loss to Detroit. After allowing three runs or fewer in each of his first eight outings, the bubble burst for Bundy on Thursday. He entered the game with a wide gap between his 2.26 ERA and 3.57 FIP.

“The hard part is, when the team got the lead it seemed like I gave it up every inning after we got the lead,” Bundy said. “So, that can’t happen and I’ve got to do a better job. But getting through six, that’s huge for our bullpen. Giving up six runs …”

In allowing six runs on eight hits, including two home runs, with four walks and three strikeouts, Bundy posted a game score of 25, which matches his career low.

Minnesota at Baltimore MLB Betting Pick: Baltimore Orioles

After making his debut in 2012, Bundy has finally broken out after a rash of injuries and development roadblocks.