New York Looks to Continue Dominance Over Minnesota With Road Sweep

The New York Yankees are 5-0 in their last five road games against the Minnesota Twins, including wins on Tuesday and Wednesday to take a 2-0 lead in this three-game series. The Yankees will try to complete the sweep with a victory in Minnesota on Thursday night.

Sportsbook Odds Analysis

The Yankees opened as -136 road favorites and the line hasn’t changed much as New York now sits at -131 and Minnesota is listed as a +121 home underdog. Early action on the OVER 10 runs has bumped the total up to 11 runs. The OVER is 5-1 in New York’s last six games.

Starting Pitchers Analysis

Michael King made his second spot start of the year last Friday against the Boston Red Sox, allowing six hits and four earned runs over 5.1 innings in a 5-2 Yankees loss. King has pitched 27.1 innings across nine appearances and has a 3.62 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP. The 26-year-old is filling in for Corey Kluber, who has been out since late May with a rotator cuff injury.

J.A. Happ got off to a brilliant start in his first season in Minnesota with a 1.91 ERA and a 0.85 WHIP through his first five starts. It’s been all downhill since then, however, as Happ has compiled a 10.17 ERA and a 1.91 WHIP over his last five starts. Happ pitched for the Yankees from 2018 through 2020 before signing with the Twins in the offseason.

New York News & Notes

Five Yankees recorded multi-hit games as the team recorded 14 hits in Tuesday’s 8-4 win over Minnesota. On Wednesday, Giancarlo Stanton went 3-for-5 with two runs, two home runs and five RBIs in another big day on offense as the Yankees defeated the Twins 9-6. New York improved to 33-29 with the two wins.

The Yankees were just 2-8 over their previous 10 games heading into this series against the Twins and were averaging 2.7 runs per game over that stretch. New York’s fans and bettors have been waiting all season for this offense to wake up and are hoping that these last two games could be a sign of things to come moving forward.

Minnesota News & Notes

The Twins showed signs that they might be turning things around when they finished the month of May on an 8-3 run. But since June 1, the Twins are just 2-6 over their last eight games. Minnesota ranks dead last in the American League Central at 24-37 and sits a full 13 games behind the Chicago White Sox for the division’s top spot.

This team won 101 games in 2019 to win the AL Central and won the division again last year with a 36-24 record. A sharp decline in pitching has been the main reason for Minnesota’s struggles this season. The Twins had a team ERA of 3.58 that ranked fourth-best in the majors in 2020; their team ERA of 4.87 ranks fourth-worst in the majors in 2021.

Betting Pick: New York -131

New York’s bats are clicking in this series and there is no reason to expect that trend to stop given Happ’s recent struggles. Look for the Yankees to outslug the Twins and finish up the sweep on Thursday.