Minnesota Twins at Boston Red Sox Betting Preview/Player Prop
25 August 2021

Minnesota was expected to compete for a playoff position this season, but they come into this game with a record of just 54-71. The Twins have also now lost four straight games, and they are limping to the end of the season.
Boston enters play on Wednesday night with a record of 72-55, but they are no longer in first place in the AL East. The Red Sox now have some serious work to do if they are going to reach the playoffs at all.
The Boston Red Sox are big betting favorites on the moneyline at -234 for this matchup with the Minnesota Twins.
Pitching Failing Minnesota Twins
Minnesota now has a team ERA of 5.00, and there just aren’t enough solid pitchers on the roster for the Twins. This team has now given up at least seven runs in five straight games, and that just puts too much pressure on the offense.
Bailey Ober is set to take the mound on Wednesday night, and he has not been strong this season. Ober has gone just 1-2 with a 4.38 ERA this season, and he will be looking to turn things around for the Twins.
Jorge Polanco leads the Twins with 23 home runs and 74 RBIs this season, and he is now the clear leader of this offense. Minnesota has been scoring runs, but they can’t make up for lack of pitching.
Red Sox Needing Consistent Offense
The Red Sox can put up runs in a hurry, but they just struggle to have a consistent attack. Boston is hitting .259 with a high slugging percentage, and that offense will need to stay hot through the remainder of the season.
Rafael Devers leads the Red Sox with 29 home runs and 91 RBIs, and he provides plenty of power for this team. Xander Bogaerts is also a big key as his .302 batting average sets the tone for Boston.
Nick Pivetta takes the mound on Wednesday night, and that is usually a good thing for the Red Sox. Pivetta is 9-6 with a 4.43 ERA and will need to deliver a strong start on Wednesday night.
Boston Barely Gets By Twins
The first game of this series was an absolute slugfest, but look for the starting pitchers to have a bigger impact on this game. There is not going to be 20 total runs scored, but the overall outcome should end up being the same.
Boston simply has to pick up as many wins as they can possibly get, and playing the Twins at Fenway Park is a great way to do just that. The Red Sox are no longer dominating teams, but they will have just enough offense to sneak past Minnesota and win their third straight game overall.
Bet the Boston Red Sox -234 as they barely get by the Minnesota Twins for the second straight night of this series.
Player Prop
Xander Bogaerts (-350) Over 0.5 Hits
The Red Sox enjoyed a breakout performance on offense last night with 11 runs on 11 hits against Minnesota pitching. One player who didn’t join the hit parade was Bogaerts.
That’s been rare for the Boston shortstop this season as he leads the team in batting average (.302), on-base percentage (.371) and hits (132). That last category ranks him 15th in all of baseball.
It stood out even more that he was at home where he has been hitting .323 with 13 HRs in 220 at-bats compared to .281 with 7 HRs in 217 at-bats on the road.
We’ll look for Bogaerts (-350) to get back to his offensive ways tonight and pick up at least one hit as the Bosox play the second game of their series against the Twins at Fenway.
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