The Minnesota Twins are visiting the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday, May 26th at the George M. Steinbrenner Field in the opening game of this series. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for this game. Here’s a Twins vs Rays Prediction. We will examine:
The Tampa Bay Rays’ recent form and player performance
The Minnesota Twins’ recent form and player performance
Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Tampa Bay Rays
Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Minnesota Twins
Recent betting trends in games played between the Minnesota Twins vs Tampa Bay Rays
A summary that ties it all together and produces a favorable betting outcome for the Minnesota Twins vs Tampa Bay Rays game
Tampa Bay Rays Preview
The Tampa Bay Rays have a 26-26 record this season and are sitting in second place in the AL East. The Rays have a 16-18 home record and are 20-30 in over/under. They are coming off a 13-0 home victory over the Blue Jays and have five consecutive wins. Under is 6-2 in their last 8 games, and are playing the Astros and the Rangers next.
The Rays have a .243 batting average this season, a .308 OBP, and a .374 slugging percentage. Tampa’s pitching staff has a 3.69 ERA and 1.20 WHIP. Yandy Diaz leads the Rays with 48 hits and a team-high 29 RBI, while Jonathan Aranda is the team’s best hitter with a .297 batting average.
Zack Littell (R) will take the mound for the Rays, and he has a 3-5 record, 4.25 ERA, and 1.15 WHIP. He has been ok at home with a 4.33 ERA across five home starts, but he has given at least two runs in eight of his last nine starts. Zack Littell is 0-2 with an ERA of 4.50 and 16 strikeouts in 5 appearances against the Twins in his career.
Minnesota Twins Preview
The Minnesota Twins have a 29-23 record this season and are sitting in third place in the AL Central. The Twins have an 11-15 road record and are 18-30 in over/under. They are coming off a 1-2 home defeat by the Royals, which ended their previous two-game winning streak. Under is 6-2-1 in their last 9 games and are playing the Orioles and the Tigers next.
The Twins have a .239 batting average this season, a .309 OBP, and a .381 Slugging percentage. Minnesota’s pitching staff has a 3.20 ERA and 1.15 WHIP. Ty France leads the Twins with 46 hits and a team-high 29 RBI. Byron Buxton leads the team in home runs, with 10, and he is the team’s best hitter with a .261 batting average.
Chris Paddack (R) will take the mound for the Twins, and he has a 2-4 record, 3.98 ERA, and 1.23 WHIP. He has been weaker on the road with a 4.97 ERA across five road starts, and he has been in good form lately, with just 3 earned runs in 19.2 innings pitched across his last three starts. This will be his first career start against the Rays.
Why the Tampa Bay Rays will win
- The Rays have won each of their last five games.
- The Twins have lost seven of their last eight games following an extra-innings loss.
- The Twins have failed to cover the run line in 15 of their last 16 games against AL East opponents following a home loss.
- The Rays have covered the run line in each of their last seven games against the Twins following a win.
- The Twins have trailed after 3 innings in five of their last six games as road underdogs.
- The Rays have led after 5 innings in each of their last four games.
Why the Minnesota Twins will win
- The Twins have won each of their last eight games against AL East opponents.
- The Rays have lost each of their last eight games against AL Central opponents.
- The underdogs have covered the run line in each of the last nine games between the Twins and Rays.
- The Rays have failed to cover the run line in each of their last four games as favorites against AL Central opponents.
- The Rays have trailed after 5 innings in seven of their last eight games against AL Central opponents.
- The Rays have lost the first inning in each of their last three night games against AL Central opponents.
- The Twins have led after 3 innings in six of their last seven night games.
Total Runs Facts
- Each of the Twins’ last eight night games after playing the previous day have gone UNDER the total runs line.
- Nine of the Rays’ last 10 night games against American League opponents have gone UNDER the total runs line.
- The ‘Inning 1 UNDER 0.5 runs’ market has hit in six of the Rays’ last seven night games against American League opponents.
- The ‘Inning 1 OVER 0.5 runs’ market has hit in four of the Twins’ last five night games.
Matchup/League Facts
- The Rays rank 1st in the league for steals this season (71).
- The Rays rank T26th in the league for triples this season (3).
- The Twins rank 1st in the league for walks allowed this season (127).
- The Twins rank 2nd in the league for runs allowed this season (176).
Twins vs Rays Prediction
The Rays are 4-2 in their last 6 meetings against the Twins, and under is 5-2-1 in their last 8 meetings. In this Twins vs Rays Prediction, the Rays are coming as -125 home favorites. This should be closer to a pick ’em, as the Twins have a better overall record, and the Rays are mediocre at home.
Both pitchers have been ok this season, and both teams have top-7 bullpens. Both teams also average 8.4 runs per game combined this season, and they are 12-4-1 to the under in their last 17 games combined. With the total set at 9, I just don’t see 10 runs being scored in this game, so I will take the under 9 runs.