Giants-Twins prediction: Picks, odds on Tuesday, May 23

The San Francisco Giants will look to pick up their second win in a row over the Minnesota Twins when they send Alex Cobb (3-1, 1.94 ERA) to the mound against Sonny Gray (4-0, 1.64 ERA) on Tuesday night. First pitch from Target Field is set for 7:40 p.m ET.

Minnesota is a narrow -115 favorite on the moneyline at DraftKings Sportsbook, while San Francisco enters as +135 underdogs. The total is set at 8.

Giants
Out: C Joey Bart (left groin strain), SP Ross Stripling (low back strain), OF/DH Joc Pederson (right hand contusion), OF Austin Slater (left hamstring strain)

Twins
Out: 2B Jorge Polanco (let hamstring strain), UTIL Nick Gordon (fractured right leg), OF Max Kepler (left hamstring strain), RP Jorge Alcala (right radial stress fracture), SP Kenta Maeda (right triceps strain)

Alex Cobb vs. Sonny Gray

While Cobb has a sparkling 1.94 ERA, he's a guy who has outperformed his metrics a little bit, as he boasts an expected ERA that's nearly three points higher than his actual mark. Cobb mostly sticks to his sinker (.284 batting average against) early and split finger (.232) late in counts, but he also sprinkles in a curveball (.400) that he mostly throws to left-handed batters. He's coming off his worst start of the year where he allowed two runs to the Philadelphia Phillies in just 3.2 innings of work.

Gray enters tonight's game with the best ERA in baseball (1.64), but is also coming off his worst start of the year, as he allowed two earned runs in four innings against the Los Angeles Dodgers last week. That's been the trend for Gray in May, as he has yet to go longer than 5.1 frames in any of his starts in the month. That said, he's still looked like one of the best pitchers in baseball thanks in large part to a revamped pitching arsenal featuring a variety of breaking balls.

Tonight will be a pitcher's duel between Gray and Cobb. Last night, the Giants exploded for four runs in the first inning before going silent the rest of the game, while the Twins weren't able to do any damage despite the Giants' leaky bullpen. That should continue tonight when Gray and Cobb trade zeroes.

Pick: Under 8

I'm banking on Gray and the Twins to get it done. While they struggled yesterday in a game that presented a better pitching matchup, Gray should keep them in the game long enough for the offense to generate a big hit.

Pick: Twins

  
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