The AL Central-leading Minnesota Twins continue an eight-game road trip on Monday night when they open a three-game series at the NL Central Milwaukee Brewers. This is the Twins’ only visit to Beer Town this season and they are MLB betting favorites.
Twins vs Brewers – MLB Odds & Picks
How to Bet Twins at Brewers MLB Odds & TV Info- When: Monday, 8:10 PM ET
- Where: Miller Park
- Probable pitchers (away/home): Randy Dobnak/Adrian Houser
- TV: MLB Extra Innings
- Stream/gameday audio: https://www.mlb.com/live-stream-games/
- Opening MLB Lines: Twins -120, Brewers +100 (total 8.5)
The Twins (10-6) are on a season-high four-game losing streak following a 4-2 loss in Kansas City on Sunday. It was Minnesota’s first series loss to the Royals since dropping three of four from September 13-16, 2018 and first time being swept in three games by an team since September 3-5, 2018 at Houston (they’re 41-34-7 in 82 series since their last 3-game sweep).
The Kansas City bullpen threw four shutout innings, striking out six and allowing just two hits. After Greg Holland and Josh Staumont blanked the Twins, Scott Barlow closed for his first save.
Minnesota gave catcher Mitch Garver the day off as he’s been struggling. In addition, they called up pitcher Cory Gearrin. Gearrin has appeared in 336 career major league games (two starts), going 13-12 with a 3.64 ERA (302.0 IP, 122 ER), 129 walks, 282 strikeouts, and five saves. To make room for Gearrin on the 28-man roster, the Twins have optioned right-handed pitcher Sean Poppen, who appeared in just two games for the Twins this season.
It’s Randy Dobnak (2-1, 0.60) on the mound for the Twins, and he has been a huge surprise. Dobnak shut out the Pirates for six innings last Wednesday in the Twins’ 5-2 victory. He struck out just one, but he got 11 outs on the ground against the punchless Pirates lineup. He’s allowed one run and nine hits in 15 innings to date. Not bad for a guy who was projected to be seventh on the Twins’ starting pitching depth chart this year.
Even with a few injured starters on their way back for the Twins, Dobnak will remain in the Minnesota starting rotation, manager Rocco Baldelli said: “We’ll be ready for pretty much anything, but I don’t think there’s any reason right now to think [Dobnak] is going to come out of the rotation any time in the near future.”
Among qualified pitchers, Dobnak ranks second in MLB in ERA (0.60) and sixth in opponent batting average (.173). Among rookie hurlers this season, he’s tied for first with Kansas City’s Brady Singer in games started (3) and innings pitched (15.0), and also tied for first in rookie wins. Dobnak is currently riding a 12-inning scoreless streak, which is the 4th-longest active streak in the majors.
Why Bet on Milwaukee?Milwaukee lost two of three at home vs. the Reds over the weekend but did win Sunday 9-3. Christian Yelich homered, tripled and drew a pair of walks. Yelich got the Brewers on the board with an RBI triple off of Sonny Gray in the third inning, tying the score at 1-1. He then drew a bases-loaded walk as part of the Brewers’ six-run rally in the sixth inning before clubbing a solo homer off of Joel Kuhnel in the seventh. The homer was Yelich’s third in his last four games. So much for the slow start to the season. He’s now slashing .149/.286/.468 with four homers and nine RBI on the season.
Keston Hiura smacked his third home run of the season on Sunday. Hiura contributed a go-ahead RBI single during the Brewers’ six-run uprising in the sixth inning. He then victimized Joel Kuhnel with his solo shot in the seventh inning. Justin Smoak went 3-for-5 with a double and a pair of RBI. He’s only hitting .195 with four RBI on the season.
The Brewers start Adrian Houser (1-0, 0.75). Houser blanked the White Sox last Wednesday over seven innings in a 1-0 win. Houser struck out five with two walks, and he struck out five. A very impressive start for the 27-year-old coming an outing after he allowed just one run over five innings against the Pirates.
Houser has shown flashes of brilliance as a starter before, so perhaps he can keep it up in 2020. While the right-hander has yet to display consistency, the potential is certainly there. He’s only allowed one run across two appearances this year, and closed out 2019 with a solid second half.
Opponents are batting just .167 (6-for-36, 1hr) this season against Houser. His only career appearance against Minnesota came in relief last season on 5/28 at Target Field. He tossed a scoreless eighth inning (1h, 1k).
Game Trends- Twins are 1-4 in the last 5 meetings in Milwaukee.
- Twins are 2-5 in the last 7 meetings.
