It’s the end of a series between the overachieving Twins and Athletics from Oakland on the July 4 holiday afternoon and Minnesota appears to have the edge on the mound behind ace Jose Berrios. MLB Betting Odds also favor the Twins.
How to Bet Twins vs Athletics MLB Odds & Game Info
- When: Thursday, 4:07 PM ET
- Where: Oakland Coliseum
- Probable pitchers (away/home): Jose Berrios/Tanner Anderson
- TV: MLB Extra Innings
- Live Stream: MLB.tv
- Radio: 95.7 The Game
- MLB Odds: Minnesota Twins -135 (Total 9)
Why Bet on Minnesota?
Minnesota has placed All-Star pitcher Jake Odorizzi on the 10-day injured list – meaning he won’t pitch in that game – and have recalled Zack Littell from Triple-A Rochester. Littell will serve as an extra bullpen arm for the Twins over their final games before the All-Star break. The 23-year-old right-hander has allowed eight earned runs in 10 1/3 innings of relief this season with Minnesota. Outfielder Eddie Rosario is also on the injured list, dealing with a left ankle sprain.
As of Wednesday, the Twins have hit an MLB-best 160 homers this season. That’s one shy all-time pre-All-Star Game record set by last season’s New York Yankees (161), while the Twins have already shattered the all-time Twins pre-ASG record of 125, set back in 1964. Meanwhile, the Twins own a team .496 slugging percentage, which ranks fifth-best in baseball history pre-All-Star break.
Twins DH Nelson Cruz leads all active players with 34 home runs against the Athletics. He also leads with 115 RBI, is second with 171 games played and third with 165 hits. Jonathan Schoop is 31-for-99 (.313) career against the A’s, with three home runs, six doubles, 12 RBI, 14 runs scored and a .817 OPS.
Twins ace Jose Berrios (8-4) allowed six runs (three earned) on nine hits with no walks and five strikeouts across 7.1 innings while taking a loss against the White Sox on Friday. Two Twins errors led to three unearned runs charged to Berrios. It didn’t help that he yielded two homers, but without the errors, it could have been a very different night. Besides the loss, Berrios escaped without many of his other numbers taking too much damage. It was his seventh straight quality start. He has a 2.89 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, and 102 strikeouts in 112 innings this season. Berrios needs eight strikeouts to reach 500.
Team Stats
Offense- Runs: 5.69
- Hits: 9.56
- Walks: 3.05
- Strike Outs: 8.02
- Runs: 4.38
- Hits: 8.45
- Walks: 2.87
- Strike Outs: 8.71
Why Bet on Oakland?
DH Khris Davis (hand) finished 0-for-4 in his return to the A’s starting lineup on Tuesday. Davis hadn’t played since last Thursday due to a left-hand contusion, the result of a hit-by-pitch. The veteran slugger owns a relatively underwhelming .762 OPS for the season, but he has tallied 16 home runs and 43 RBI.
Closer Blake Treinen, an All-Star last year, was activated from the injured list Wednesday. The 30-year-old owns an uncharacteristic 4.08 ERA and 1.53 WHIP in 35 1/3 innings on the season and Liam Hendriks has closed well in Treinen’s spot so maybe it’s a committee. Hendriks fired a scoreless inning to preserve the Athletics’ win over the Twins and record his third save of the season on Tuesday. Hendriks was called upon to preserve a two-run lead and needed only 15 pitches (11 strikes) to slam the door.
Athletics manager Bob Melvin said Tuesday that Franklin Barreto will get the “majority” of starts at second base for the foreseeable future. Jurickson Profar, meanwhile, is going to work in more of a utility role. Barreto was hitting very well in Triple-A.
It’s rookie Tanner Anderson for Oakland. Anderson (0-3) was charged with loss at Angel Stadium on Thursday after lasting just 2.2 innings and surrendering seven runs on eight hits and a walk while striking out three. Anderson started off strong, easily retiring the top of the Angels’ lineup, including strikeouts to Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani. Unfortunately, he also served up two-run homers to both Kole Calhoun and Ohtani in the brief outing, which proved to be his worst of this season.
Over six appearances (four starts), the 26-year-old owns a dismal 7.13 ERA, 1.47 WHIP and 15:5 K:BB. With Frankie Montas suspended, Anderson will see more opportunities but he needs to turn it around to stick in the rotation. It’s Anderson’s first-ever look at the Twins.
Team Stats
Offense- Runs: 5.06
- Hits: 8.48
- Walks: 3.34
- Strike Outs: 7.85
- Runs: 4.40
- Hits: 8.28
- Walks: 3.25
- Strike Outs: 7.93
Twins vs Athletics MLB Betting Trends
- Twins are 4-1 in Berrios’ last 5 starts vs. a team with a winning record
- Athletics are 0-4 in Anderson’s last 4 starts
- Over is 8-3-3 in Berrios’ last 14 starts overall
- Twins are 2-4 SU in their last 6 games on the road
- The total has gone OVER in 6 of Minnesota’s last 7 games against an opponent in the American League West division
- Athletics are 6-3 SU in their last 9 games at home
- The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Oakland’s last 7 games played in July
Expert Final Score Prediction for Twins vs Athletics
Minnesota Twins 6 – Oakland Athletics 4
