2020-09-18 20:15:00 EDT
The Minnesota Twins and the Chicago Cubs meet Friday in MLB action from Wrigley Field.
The Twins are coming off a series versus the White Sox. Minnesota went just 1-2 in the first three matchups there. In the Thursday finale, the Twins dropped the series with a 4-3 loss. As for the Cubs, they played a pair versus the the Indians this week. Chicago took both those games 6-5 and 3-2. Check back all season long for free MLB picks and MLB predictions at Sports Chat Place.
The Twins had eight hits to the White Sox’ nine in the Thursday loss, and couldn’t keep up on the scoreboard either. Byron Buxton was the standout in that one, with two homers and three hits.
For the starting pitcher role on Friday, the Twins will go with Rich Hill. In his six games this season, Hill is 2-1 with a 3.81 ERA and 22 strikeouts and 26.0 innings. Over his MLB career, Hill is 67-43 with a 3.82 ERA and 1026 Ks in 963.1 innings.
Over on the Cubs’ side, they’ve had a few key bats emerge this season. Ian Happ leads the team with 12 homers and 28 RBI alongside 25 runs and a .275 batting average. Kyle Schwarber is hitting just .194 on the year, but he’s got 10 homers and 21 RBI with 27 runs of his own. Jason Heyward is another reliable hitter on a .287 BA and 22 RBI.
In the Friday starting pitcher job, the Cubs are sending out Kyle Hendricks. In his 10 starts this year, Hendricks is 5-4 with a 3.29 ERA and 51 Ks in 65.2 innings. Over his MLB career, Hendricks is 68-47 with a 3.15 ERA and 869 Ks in 1031.2 innings total.
The Twins are 11-4 in their last 15 games overall and 20-8 in their last 28 Friday games. Minnesota is 10-4 in their last 14 games versus the National League Central and 47-23 in the last 70 during game one of a series.
Meanwhile, the Cubs are 20-7 in their last 27 during game one of a series and 8-3 in their last 11 games following an off day. Chicago is 7-3 in their last 10 games versus a left-handed starter and 11-5 in their last 16 games as a home favorite.
Pick: I’m going with the Cubs. This should be a pretty fun series, and we’ve got a nice matchup of starters to kick it off. Hill has consecutive solid starts under his belt right now, and he gave up two runs on five hits with seven Ks in a win over the Indians last weekend. As for Hendricks, he managed a no-decision on Saturday, giving up two runs on six hits with 7.2 innings of action. Hendricks boasts a nice 1.66 ERA this month so far, and I think he’ll keep it going for Chicago.
