MLB wagering interest swings to the Minnesota vs Kansas City battle on Thursday at Target Field as the Twins try to defend home turf and reward moneyline bettors.

Bruce Chen, with a record of 2-2 on the season, gets the ball for the Royals, while the Twins trot Samuel Deduno to the mound in this one. He is 8-7 so far in 2013.



View Kansas City vs Minnesota Odds and Stats.

Betting Line:
On the MLB moneyline for this matchup, Minnesota sat as +107 underdogs earlier in the day at Sportsbook. The total was set at 8.5, according to Sportsbook.

Power Rankings:
This game puts the Twins, most recently No. 14 in the American League Odds Shark MLB Power Rankings, up against the Royals, who rate an American League No. 4 in the latest survey.



How They Match Up:
At the plate, Minnesota owns the No. 13 ranking for hits in the American League at 8.3 per game. By contrast, the Royals are rated No. 6 in the same category at 8.9 per game.

Minnesota owns the American League's No. 11 defense, allowing 4.6 men per game to cross the plate. That contrasts with Kansas City's American League No. 1-rated defense.

Kansas City was an 8-1 Sportsbook in its last match on the road against the Twins. They won as -119 favorites, while the total score of 9 made Sportsbooks of OVER bettors. Kansas City got the job done in their last match in an 8-1 victory over Minnesota on Wednesday at Target Field behind starter Danny Duffy.




Kansas City Royals Trends:
When playing on Thursday are 5-5
Before playing Toronto are 2-8
After playing Minnesota are 6-4
After a win are 7-3

Minnesota Twins Trends:
When playing on Thursday are 6-4
Before playing Texas are 2-8
After playing Kansas City are 4-6
After a loss are 3-7

A few Royals at Twins trends to consider:
Kansas City is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Minnesota
Kansas City is 8-1 SU in its last 9 games when playing Minnesota
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Kansas City's last 6 games
Kansas City is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Minnesota's last 11 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Minnesota's last 6 games when playing at home against Kansas City
Minnesota is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games
Minnesota is 1-8 SU in its last 9 games when playing Kansas City


Next up:
Kansas City at Toronto, Friday, August 30
Minnesota at Texas, Friday, August 30