The Detroit Tigers and the Minnesota Twins meet in an AL Central division matchup in MLB action from Target Field on Wednesday.
The Detroit Tigers will look to win the rubber match of this series after evening the set up at one win apiece after their 5-3 win over Minnesota on Tuesday. Jonathan Schoop has 7 home runs while Javier Baez has 10 homers, with Schoop logging 16 doubles and 28 RBIs. Baez also has a team-high 21 doubles and 40 RBIs while Miguel Cabrera has a team-high 87 hits, a .271 batting average and 36 RBIs. Jeimer Candelario also has a team-high 10 homers and 32 RBIs this season. Tyler Alexander will start here and is 2-4 with a 4.10 ERA and 19 strikeouts this season.
The Minnesota Twins will look to bounce back after a frustrating loss at the hands of the Tigers on Tuesday. Luis Arraez has 114 hits including 16 doubles while also posting a .329 batting average. Byron Buxton also has 64 hits with a team-high 26 home runs and 46 RBIs and Gary Sanchez has 19 doubles to lead the Twins in two-baggers this season. Jorge Polanco has 73 hits and 49 RBIs and Max Kepler has 39 RBIs as well on the year, while Carlos Correa’s also added 81 hits. Joe Ryan will start here and is 7-4 with a 3.78 ERA and 80 strikeouts this season.
Detroit is 15-36 in their last 51 road games and 5-16 in their last 21 games overall while the under is 5-0-1 in their last 6 games against a team with a winning record. Minnesota is 1-4 in their last 5 Wednesday games and 6-2 in their last 8 home games against a team with a left-handed starter while the over is 7-2-1 in their last 10 games overall.
I get the case to be made for an underdog in certain spots, but not in spots featuring the Detroit Tigers. Joe Ryan has stumbled in spots, but this Tigers team continues to be historically bad against right-handed pitching, and I don’t see that changing here. The Twins made a couple of moves at the trade deadline, and while it wasn’t anything earth-shattering, it shows that this Twins team is serious about making a run and the Detroit Tigers, well, they’re focused on next year and stockpiling assets. I will side with the Twins in a beatdown here.