Minnesota Twins (57-51) vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (75-33)
It is an interleague battle between division leaders when the Minnesota Twins open a two-game series with the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday. Minnesota holds a 1.0 game lead in the AL Central heading into Monday’s action as they enter the series 5-5 in their last 10. The Dodgers are red-hot, winners of eight straight games entering the series, and hold a 15-point five-game edge over the San Diego Padres.
These teams met in April (April 12-13) in Minneapolis, a two-game set dominated by the Dodgers who took both contests by a combined score of 14-2. This is why it is not surprising that Los Angeles enters as the favorite at -200 with the odds set for Minnesota at +170. When giving up 1.5 runs, the odds for the Dodgers change to +110 while Minnesota is at -130 when receiving 1.5 runs. The total is set at 8.5 (over: -115, under: -105).
The Minnesota Twins enter this series with both the Cleveland Guardians and the Chicago White Sox breathing down their necks. Minnesota holds a 1.0 game edge over Cleveland and a 2.0 game edge over Chicago. Both of those clubs are 6-4 in their last 10 as the Twins begin their five-game Southern California tour.
What a weekend it was as we welcomed back our two newly inducted National @BaseballHall of Fame members to Target Field! pic.twitter.com/SNSRJFUr9l
— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) August 8, 2022
Minnesota starts right-hander Joe Ryan, who is 8-4 with a 3.67 ERA in 17 starts. Ryan was cruising through July, fantastic in his first four starts where he had allowed five total earned runs in 22.0 innings. However, he was hammered by San Diego in his final start of the month, giving up 10 runs in 4.2 innings. The right-hander rebounded in his first start of August, allowing one earned run in 5.0 innings (August 3). He gave up five homeruns in that loss to San Diego, which could be a concern against the power-laden Dodgers.
The Twins are 10th in runs per game (4.58) and 15th in runs allowed per contest (4.33). This is a solid offense, ninth in the league in both team batting average (.251) and OPS (.738). Minnesota has 133 homeruns this season, the eighth most in baseball led by Byron Buxton who has 26.