The Minnesota Twins landed slugger Nelson Cruz this offseason in free agency to serve as their designated hitter. Alas, the Twins won’t have the DH available for Tuesday’s interleague game at the Mets so Cruz will either sit or have to play the outfield – where he’s not very good. New York is a heavy MLB Betting favorite behind reigning Cy Young winner Jacob deGrom.
How to Bet Twins vs Mets MLB Betting Lines & Game Info
In front of the home crowd, the king was crowned! 👑 pic.twitter.com/X1jvVou25d
— New York Mets (@Mets) 8 de abril de 2019
- When: Tuesday, 7:10 PM ET
- Where: Citi Field
- Probable pitchers (away/home): Kyle Gibson/Jacob deGrom
- TV: MLB Extra Innings
- Live Stream: MLB.tv
- MLB Betting Lines: Mets -235 / Twins +190 (Total 6.5)
Mariners vs Royals MLB Week 2 Odds, Preview, and Pick
Why Bet on Minnesota?
The Twins enter Tuesday’s series opener at 5-3 following losing two of three in Philadelphia over the weekend. Max Kepler went 2-for-4 with a solo home run in Sunday’s loss. The dinger was his third of the young campaign. All three of those have come in consecutive days. Kepler has now picked up hits in all but two of the eight games in which he has played. Marwin Gonzalez picked up a pair of singles, but he’s off to a sluggish start with his new team, picking up just four hits through his first 22 at-bats, good for a .182 batting average.
Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said Sunday that third baseman Miguel Sano (heel) could begin a rehab assignment “maybe within a week.” Sano has advanced from the conditioning stage of his rehab from a right heel laceration and has resumed baseball activities. Sano didn’t have a spring training, so he’ll need a fairly lengthy rehab assignment.
Jorge Polanco made history over the weekend as he recorded the Twins’ 11th cycle, the first since Michael Cuddyer on May 22, 2009, vs. Milwaukee. He became the 55th player in Major League history to record a cycle with 5+ hits, and first since Milwaukee’s Christian Yelich, who collected six hits for his cycle, on August 29 of last year. He also became the 55th player in Twins history to notch 5+ hits in a game, with Logan Forsythe being the last to do so on August 16 of last season.
Eddie Rosario is hitting .320 (33-for-130) with eight doubles, six home runs, and 16 RBI in his last 25 games vs. NL opponents. He has hit safely in 16 of his last 17 interleague games. Polanco is hitting .367 (40-for-109) in 32 career games against NL teams with a .453 (29-for-64) AVG and 15 RBI in the last 14.
Byron Buxton has stolen 31 straight bases, extending the club record. The all-time American League record is held by Ichiro Suzuki (45) from April 29, 2006-May 16, 2007. The all-time National League/MLB record is held by Vince Coleman (50) from September 18, 1988-July 26, 1989.
Kyle Gibson led Twins starters in quality starts (18) and ERA (3.62) last year, but his first start of the season on Wednesday unraveled in a five-run fifth inning by the Royals, when he felt he was making good pitches but battled a mental lapse. Gibson didn’t factor into the decision, allowing six runs (five earned) on eight hits and two walks over 4.2 innings while striking out two. The right-hander looked solid enough through four innings, but a five-run fifth capped by Alex Gordon’s three-run homer sent Gibson to the showers.
Team Stats
Offense- Runs: 4.38
- Hits: 8.62
- Walks: 2.88
- Strike Outs: 7.62
Defense
- Runs: 3.62
- Hits: 6.62
- Walks: 3.75
- Strike Outs: 8.88
Why Bet on NY Mets?
The Mets are 6-3 after losing two of three at home over the weekend to rival Washington. Michael Conforto went 2-for-3 with a three-run homer in the Mets’ loss to the Nationals on Sunday. Conforto belted a three-run dinger off Nationals’ reliever Joe Ross in the ninth inning. He also doubled and scored a run in the second inning to notch his sixth multi-hit effort in nine games. He’s hitting .351/.415/.595 with nine runs scored and four RBIs.
Young first baseman Pete Alonso went deep for the second consecutive game, swatting a three-run homer Sunday. Alonso finished the contest 2-for-4 with three RBI and a pair of runs scored. The 24-year-old slugger’s prodigious power potential is off the metaphorical charts, and he simply hasn’t looked overmatched against major-league arms, hitting .382/.432/.824 with nine extra-base hits and 11 RBIs in nine games.
Jacob DeGrom (2-0) allowed three hits and one walk while striking out 14 across seven scoreless innings to earn the win Wednesday against the Marlins. DeGrom was dominant once again, with only one runner reaching scoring position across his seven innings of work. He has now opened the season with 13 scoreless innings, generating 24 strikeouts in the process.
With a quality start, deGrom can pass Bob Gibson for the most in a row in MLB history. He’ll carry a career-best 26-inning scoreless streak into Tuesday’s game. The Mets skipped Jason Vargas so that deGrom could pitch on normal rest. DeGrom already established the major league record having allowed three runs or fewer in 31-consecutive starts.
Last year, deGrom joined Tom Seaver (1969, 1973 and 1975), Dwight Gooden (1985) and R.A. Dickey (2012) as the only pitchers in team history to win the NL Cy Young Award. The right-hander led the majors in ERA (1.70), opponent’s slugging (.277), opponent’s OPS (.521) and home runs per nine innings (0.41). He finished second in the majors in innings (217.0) and fourth in the majors with a career-high 269 strikeouts.
New closer Edwin Diaz has converted all four of his save opportunities this season. Dating back to August 20, 2018, he as converted 14-straight save opportunities, tied for the third-longest streak of his career.
Team Stats
Offense- Runs: 5.78
- Hits: 9.67
- Walks: 2.89
- Strike Outs: 11.00
Defense
- Runs: 5.22
- Hits: 8.56
- Walks: 3.67
- Strike Outs: 10.44
Rays vs White Sox Odds, Game Preview, and Predictions
Twins vs Mets MLB Betting Trends
- Twins are 0-4 in Gibson’s last 4 starts during game 1 of a series
- Mets are 20-7 in deGrom’s last 27 starts during game 1 of a series
- Minnesota is 16-6 ATS in its last 22 games
- Minnesota is 11-3 SU in its last 14 games
- The total has gone OVER in 4 of Minnesota’s last 6 games
- NY is 6-3 ATS in its last 9 games
- NY is 8-3 SU in its last 11 games
- The total has gone OVER in 7 of NY Mets’ last 8 games
Expert Final Score Prediction for Twins vs Mets
Minnesota Twins 3 – NY Mets 4
