Minnesota is 40-22 at its new home, Target Field. Detroit is 22-41 away from home. The respective home and road records of the two teams are a big reason why each is in its current position.

Minnesota is in first place in the AL Central. Detroit is 10 games out of first place in the AL Central.

The Tigers, the third worst road team in the league, now head to one of the hardest places to play in the American League, Minnesota’s Target Field.

There is not a road trip Detroit looks forward to, but the trip to Target Field has to make the Tigers cringe just a little bit more. The AL Central rivals open up a three-game series tonight at 8:10 p.m. ET in Minnesota.

MLB Predictions: Pitching Matchup
Armando Galarraga (RHP, 4-5, 4.04 ERA) vs. Brian Duensing (LHP, 7-2, 2.19 ERA)
Galarraga has strung together two effective starts for the first time since June. He has not been able to put three quality starts together in his career and almost on queue he makes a trip to a house of horrors for him. Galarraga struggled immensely at the Metrodome and those struggles have carried over to Minnesota’s new home.

In his career Galarraga is 1-6 with a 6.14 ERA against the Twins. His last visit to Target Field on June 29, Galarraga was tagged for six runs in four-plus innings.

Joe Mauer and Denard Span both average over .450 in their career against Galarraga. Jason Kubel, Mauer and Delmon Young have all gone deep off Galarraga. 

Duensing has emerged as Minnesota’s best starter over the last month of the season, although he finally shown he is not invincible in his last start when he was touched up for four runs in six innings in a loss. He is 4-1 as a starter this season and 7-2 overall with a 2.19 ERA. He has thrived against the Tigers, posting a 2.28 ERA against them in his career.

Galarraga has won only two games since his near perfect game back on June 2, but Detroit is 8-6 since that game when he has started, including 4-1 on the road.

Tigers vs. Twins Betting Odds
The Twins are favored and listed at -180. The Tigers are priced at +160. The total is 8.5. Odds are courtesy of Sportsbook.com.

Tigers vs. Twins Betting Trends
Tigers are 7-1 in their eight divisional games
Tigers are 4-1 in Galarraga’s last five road starts
Twins are 8-1 in their last nine home games vs. a right-handed starter
Twins are 13-3 in their last 16 games vs. a team with a losing record
Twins are 5-0 in Duensing’s last five starts as a home favorite
Tigers are 1-4 in Galarraga’s last five starts vs. the Twins

Tigers vs. Twins Betting Predictions and Baseball Picks
The Tigers are in the midst of a relative hot stretch having won seven of 10 while the Twins have cooled off recently, going just 5-6 in their last 11. But the key here is the setting of the game in Minnesota. Laying -180 odds is not an attractive proposition, especially for a Minnesota team playing slightly below .500 baseball over the past two weeks.

But playing at Target Field has brought out a different Minnesota team, especially in August. The Twins have won 11 of their past 13 at home. Couple that with Detroit’s 2-5 recent road record and their struggles on the road all season and all of a sudden -180 does not seem like too steep of a price, especially considering the huge advantage Minnesota has in the pitching matchup. The play here is Minnesota.

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