The Minnesota Twins and the St. Louis Cardinals meet Tuesday in MLB action from Busch Stadium. The Twins are fresh off a weekend series versus the Royals, taking three more consecutive losses for their current five-game losing streak. As for St. Louis, they weren’t great over the weekend either, losing three of four to the rival Cubs. Check back all season long for free MLB picks at Sports Chat Place.
Minnesota Twins
The Twins gave up a lot of runs to the Royals in the first pair of weekend games. Minnesota lost 8-5 Friday and 10-7 in game two. The Sunday finale was another defeat, this time 2-1. Matt Wallner had Minnesota’s only RBI in that final matchup with a solo homer. Willi Castro was the only team player with multiple hits (two) as well.
For the starter job in the Tuesday game the Twins will go with Pablo Lopez. This year over his 21 starts Lopez is 5-6 with a 4.13 ERA and 160 Ks in 128.2 innings. Lopez is 2-3 in his last seven starts with a 3.86 ERA and 59 Ks in 44.1 innings total.
Minnesota Twins Team Facts
- The Twins have won each of their last eight night games against NL Central opponents following a road loss.
- The Twins have covered the run line in each of their last 13 night games against NL Central opponents following a road loss.
- The Twins have led after 5 innings in each of their last eight road games against NL Central opponents that held a losing record.
- The Twins have trailed after 3 innings in each of their last four games as favourites.
- The ‘Inning 1 OVER 0.5 runs’ market has hit in each of the Twins’ last five road games against NL Central opponents.
St. Louis Cardinals
Over on the Cardinals’ side, they had no luck against the Cubs in their first three weekend games, losing 10-3, 3-2 and 5-1. On Sunday St. Louis staved off an embarrassing sweep with a 3-0 victory. Andrew Knizner (two hits), Paul Goldschmidt and Tyler O’Neill (walk) each had an RBI in that finale.
It’s looking like it’ll be Miles Mikolas in the start for the Cardinals on Tuesday. Mikolas is currently appealing a five-game ban handed down by the MLB for intentionally throwing consecutive pitches at the Cubs’ Ian Happ. That situation will likely take a while longer to be resolved.
St. Louis Cardinals Team Facts
- The underdogs have won eight of the Cardinals’ last nine games.
- The Cardinals have covered the run line in each of their last 10 games as underdogs following a win.
- The Cardinals have led after 5 innings in three of their last four games as underdogs against American League opponents.
- The Cardinals have won the first inning in each of their last three games.
- The ‘Inning 1 OVER 0.5 runs’ market has hit in each of the Cardinals’ last five home games.
Matchup/League Facts
- The St. Louis Cardinals ranks 1st in the league for home runs allowed this season (103).
- The St. Louis Cardinals ranks 30th in the league for hits allowed this season (1014).
- The Minnesota Twins ranks T1st in the league for strikeouts this season (1027).
- The Minnesota Twins ranks 30th in the league for strikeouts against this season (1107).
ANDREW’S FREE PICK
I’ll probably stick with the Twins. Probably not touching it, though. There’s not a lot to like about this matchup, as both teams are playing pretty poorly right now. The good news is that Lopez has given up only four earned over his last two starts in 12.0 innings total. That said, Lopez is just 0-1 in his last three starts and surrendered seven earned in 5.2 innings to the A’s on July 15. As for St. Louis, they scored a tepid nine runs in four games over the weekend versus 18 allowed in the first three. This Tuesday opener could go a lot of different ways, but I think both teams will score reasonably well in a close game.
