The Minnesota Twins and Kansas City Royals find themselves battling for one of the AL wild-card spots, making their upcoming four-game series tremendously important. The Twins will need to get the monkey off their back in order to maintain their current wild-card positioning, as Minny is 4-12 in its past 16 at Kauffman Stadium.
- Joe Mauer is slashing .478/.571/1.050 during the month of September.
- The total has gone OVER in 7 of the Twins’ last 9 games against the Royals.
- The Twins are 8-2 SU in their last 10 games on the road with Kyle Gibson as the starting pitcher.
Kyle Gibson has been the Twins’ best pitcher as they fight for a wild-card spot. Gibson has a solid 3.29 ERA in his past seven starts and has not allowed more than three earned runs in any of those outings. The righty has also found renewed control recently with 20 strikeouts and just two walks in his past three starts.
The Royals will start Sam Gaviglio for the first time since they claimed the pitcher off waivers. Gaviglio has not pitched in the majors since being sent down to Triple-A back in July – a month that saw him post a 7.94 ERA for the Seattle Mariners. The right-hander hasn’t been exactly lighting the world up in the minors either, bouncing between good and mediocre performances.
Sportsbook Odds & Computer Pick
Sportsbooks such as Sportsbook had installed the Kansas City Royals as -103 moneyline underdogs in this particular MLB betting odds matchup. The total, meanwhile, was set early at 9.5 before betting at Sportsbook started to move the line.
OddsShark prediction models pick the Twins to win this game 4.5-2.9. View the computer score prediction and who will win the pick on the moneyline for all upcoming MLB matchups here.
Minnesota Twins vs Kansas City Royals Matchup
Team Betting Records & Power Rankings
Kansas City (69-69) will face the 72-67 Twins in this tilt. Stay Informed: follow us on Twitter for odds specials, betting line moves and Kansas City vs Minnesota injuries news.
The MLB Power Rankings show a disparity between these teams, with the Kansas City Royals rated this week at No. 28 and the Minnesota Twins sitting at No. 2.
Statistical Matchup
The game also pits the Kansas City Royals' No. 23-rated offense, averaging 4.37 runs per game, against a Minnesota Twins defense that ranks No. 22 at 4.98 in runs allowed per game. The Kansas City Royals have averaged 8.86 hits per game so far, more than Minnesota Twins batters have averaged on the year (8.79 hits per game).
Pitching and defensive stats are important baseball handicapping betting factors and Kansas City has the No. 17-ranked defense. In the other dugout, the Twins own the No. 22 mark in runs allowed.
Recent Outings Betting Recap
The Twins enjoyed a 10-6 victory at the expense of the Rays on Wednesday at Tropicana Field.
Kansas City enjoyed a laugher in their last game on Wednesday, running up a 13-2 score against the Tigers.
- Minnesota is 15-6 ATS in its last 21 games
- Minnesota is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games
- The total has gone OVER in 4 of Minnesota's last 6 games
- Minnesota is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games on the road
- Kansas City is 6-14 ATS in its last 20 games
- Kansas City is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games
- The total has gone OVER in 5 of Kansas City's last 6 games
- Kansas City is 3-8 ATS in its last 11 games at home
Next Betting Matchups
Minnesota at Kansas City, Friday, September 8
