New York Yankees at Minnesota Twins Betting Preview/Prop Picks

In perhaps what will be the most entertaining game of the day, the Yankees will face the Twins. New York, which has split the series so far with Minnesota, is starting one of their best pitchers.

With a record of 40-16 this season, it shouldn’t be much of a shock that the Yankees are favored tonight. The question is, can they bounce back and beat the Twins after an 8-1 loss yesterday?

The Minnesota Twins are in a tough spot today. Sure, they were able to beat the Yankees yesterday, but the day before, they lost 10-4. Pitching has been a big problem for Minnesota and could prove to be troublesome again.

Taking on the batters of the Yankees isn’t an easy task, especially with who’s on the mound. Let’s look at what each of these teams brings to the game.

New York Yankees: Gerrit Cole gets the nod as the starter

This is tough news for the Twins as they’re forced to go against one of the best in the league. Gerrit Cole, the 5-1 RHP with an ERA of 2.78 this season, will take the mound today.

Cole’s most recent win was a 13-0 victory over the Detroit Tigers. It’s pretty clear that the Yankees will have the edge in terms of pitching. The question is, how will their batters perform at the plate?

This season, the Yankees batters have a team average of .245 at the plate. They have an on-base percentage of .323, slightly under the Minnesota Twins.

The Yankees have suffered injuries to a lot of their pitchers, most notably Aroldis Chapman. With a few of their closers sidelined, they could have a problem late in the game. However, we don’t think that’s the case.

Minnesota Twins: Pitching will be the biggest problem here

As the Minnesota Twins enter this game, we have one main concern on the team. Their pitching this season has been underwhelming, to say the least. Getting the start today is Dylan Bundy, who is coming off an awful game against the Toronto Blue Jays.

This season, Bundy has a 3-3 record as a starter with an ERA of 5.57. As we said, the Twins’ pitching is their biggest problem.

At the plate, the Twins rank among the best teams in the league in batting average at .251. They have an on-base percentage of .324 and have Byron Buxton back in the lineup.

There’s a lot of good happening in Minnesota, which has a 33-25 record this season. They rank first in the AL Central at the moment as well. The only problem tonight is they have Bundy on the mound.

New York Yankees at Minnesota Twins Betting Pick

After going over each of these teams, we think the choice is obvious. There’s a reason why the Yankees came in as -211 favorites today; they’re the better team. With Gerrit Cole on the mound, the Yankees should be able to limit the effectiveness of the Twins batters. 

On the opposite side, the Yankees batters should get a fast start over Bundy. Bundy collapsed under the pressure of the Toronto Blue Jays not long ago.

Tonight, we’ll likely see him do the same thing against New York. Still, we’ll go with the under because we don’t think the Twins will put up a lot of runs.

DunkelIndex Free Pick: New York Yankees -211, UNDER

Prop Picks

Minnesota (-140) UNDER 3.5 Runs

New York is allowing 3.01 runs per 9 innings on defense, which ranks No. 1 in the league, while holding opposing offenses to a .214 batting average and .605 OPS, which also ranks No. 1. Scores have gone UNDER in eight of the Yankees’ last nine during Game 3 of a series.

With Dunkel predicting a New York victory by the score of 4-3, take the Twins (-140) to finish UNDER their Vegas team total of 3.5 runs against the Yankees.

Gerrit Cole (-135) OVER 7.5 Strikeouts

Cole has 81 strikeouts in 64.2 innings pitched this season for an average of 11.3 Ks per 9 innings, which ranks No. 1 on the Yankees and No. 4 in MLB. The veteran righthander has 33 Ks in 27.0 innings pitched on the road while allowing an opposing batting average of just .196.

With Dunkel predicting a Yankees’ road win, take Cole (-135) to finish OVER his Vegas total of 7.5 strikeouts versus Minnesota.

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All Media on this page by Associated Press.