After posting shutouts in the first two games of this series, the Twins shoot for the sweep of the struggling Blue Jays Wednesday night in Toronto. Which way are we going here with our free MLB pick?
MLB Betting Odds
Wednesday’s MLB betting odds opened Minnesota and Gibson at around -115 over Toronto and Thornton, with an over/under of 8.5 runs. Early betting action then bumped that total to nine.
The Twins could also be found getting upwards of +145 giving the run and a half on the MLB run line.
Twins vs. Blue Jays Set-Up
Minnesota took the opener of this series Monday night 8-0, then won Tuesday 3-0. Twins pitching has allowed just nine Toronto hits, eight singles and a double, through the first two games of this series.
Also, both games played under totals of 8.5 and 9.
With Wednesday’s victory, the Twins are 9-3 over their last 12 games. At 22-12 overall Minnesota now leads the AL Central by four games over second-place Cleveland.
With Wednesday’s loss, the Blue Jays now own a four-game losing streak. At 15-21 Toronto is already 8.5 games back of division-leading Tampa Bay in the AL East.
These teams have split six meetings so far this season.
Wednesday’s Starting Arms
Rookie righty Thornton is only 1/7 on quality starts this season, but he’s been pretty good his last couple times out. Last Friday he held Texas scoreless on one hit through seven innings of a 1-0 Jays victory. And just before that he held Oakland to one run and two hits through five frames of a 5-4 Toronto win.
On the season the Blue Jays are only 2-5 with Thornton but 2-0 over his last two starts.
In his only career start against the Twins, back on April 17, Thornton gave up four runs and six hits through 4 2/3 innings of a 4-1 Toronto loss.
Gibson is only 2/6 on quality starts this season, but those both came in his last three starts. Last Friday he gave up five runs in five innings in a 6-3 loss to the Yankees, but only two of those runs were earned. And over his last three starts, he’s allowed just five ER and 15 hits through 18 innings, with 17 strikeouts.
Minnesota is 4-2 with Gibson this season.
Over his last two starts against Toronto, one last season and one three weeks ago, Gibson allowed six runs and nine hits through 10 1/3 innings. The Twins lost both those games.
Wednesday’s Batting Splits
Minnesota is batting .255/.320/.487 this season against right-handed pitching.
Toronto is batting just .218/.286/.371 this season against RH pitching. This lineup has also produced only 16 runs total over the Jays’ last eight games.
The Bullpens
The Twins bullpen owns a 4.49 ERA this season and a 1.48 WHIP.
The Jays bullpen owns a 3.25 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP.
Totals Report
- Overs are 18-16 in Twins games this season.
- Unders are 22-14 in Blue Jays games this season.
- Overs are 4-2 with Gibson this season.
- Unders are 5-2 with Thornton this season.
- Unders are 4-2 in Twins-Jays games this season.
- Unders are 13-4 in games played at Rogers Centre this season.
- Get more details: Minnesota Twins at Toronto Blue Jays Match-up Stats
