Friday, April 22, 2016

Nationals Park

For Updated Odds on This Game Click Here

Probable Pitchers: Kyle Gibson vs. Gio Gonzalez

The Minnesota Twins visit Nationals Park on Friday to play the Washington Nationals. The probable starters are Kyle Gibson for the Twins and Gio Gonzalez for the Nationals. The opening line for this matchup has Minnesota at +166 and Washington at -176. The over/under was set at 7.5. The Twins have a 5-10-0 over/under record and a 7-8-0 run line mark, meaning they cover 47% of the time. The Nationals are 9-5-0 against the run line and have a 5-8-1 over/under record. They cover the spread 64% of the time.

The Twins head into this matchup with a 4-11 record, including 0-7 on the road. Starting pitcher Kyle Gibson has a 0-2 record with an earned run average of 3.57 and a WHIP of 1.53. He has 10 strikeouts over his 17.2 innings pitched and he has given up 17 hits so far this season. He has allowed 8.7 hits per 9 innings and he has a FIP of 5.25. The bullpen this year has an earned run average of 3.60 and they have given up 45 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .254 against the bullpen while being struck out 51 times and walking 25 times this season. As a team, Minnesota has allowed 8.98 hits per nine innings while striking out 8.01 batters per nine. They are 15th in the league in team earned run average at 3.87. The Twins pitchers have collectively given up 130 base hits and 56 earned runs. They have allowed 15 home runs this season and they allow 1 homers per nine innings as a staff. Minnesota as a pitching staff has walked 51 batters and struck out 116. They walk 3.5 men per 9 innings while striking out 8 per 9. They have a team WHIP of 1.39 and their FIP as a unit is 3.95.

As a team, Minnesota is batting .246, good for 15th in the league while putting together a .238 average away from home. The Twins hold a .395 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .319 which is good for 13th in baseball. They rank 16th in baseball with 8.27 hits per game. Joe Mauer comes into this game hitting .340 and his on-base percentage is at .463. He has 18 hits this season along with 5 runs scored and 5 runs batted in. He's struck out 5 times and has walked 12 times. Eduardo Escobar is hitting .286 and he has an on-base percentage of .327. He has totaled 14 hits so far while scoring 5 runs and he's driven in 2. He has walked 3 times and has struck out 15 times. The Twins have 124 hits, including 28 doubles and 13 home runs. They've stolen 9 bases while they've been thrown out stealing 4 times. Minnesota has walked 48 times this season and they've struck out 130 times as a unit. They've left 119 men on base and have a team OPS of .714. They score 3 runs per contest and have scored a total of 45 runs so far this year.

Washington comes into this matchup with a 5-1 home record and a 11-3 overall mark. With an earned run average of 0.69, Gio Gonzalez has a 0-0 record and a 0.77 WHIP. He has 12 strikeouts over the 13 innings he's pitched during which he has given up 7 hits. He has allowed 4.8 hits per nine innings and his FIP stands at 2.88. So far this season the bullpen has an earned run average of 2.35 and they have given up 31 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .221 against the Nationals bullpen while being struck out 37 times and walking 9 times this season. As a team, Washington has allowed 6.68 hits per nine innings while striking out 7.74 batters per nine. They are 1st in the league in team earned run average at 2.06. The Nationals pitchers as a team have surrendered 94 base knocks and 29 earned runs so far this season. They have given up 8 home runs this year and they give up 0.6 home runs per nine innings as a staff. Washington as a staff has walked 38 hitters and struck out 109. They give up a walk 2.7 times per 9 innings while they strike out 7.7 per 9. Their team WHIP is 1.04 while their FIP as a staff is 3.11.

As a team, they are batting .251, good for 13th in the league while putting together a .249 average at home. The Nationals hold a .433 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .323 which is good for 10th in baseball. They rank 13th in baseball with 8.36 hits per contest. Bryce Harper comes into this matchup batting .327 and he has an OBP of .417. He has 16 hits this year along with 11 runs scored and 21 RBI. He's struck out 6 times and has walked on 9 occasions. Yunel Escobar is hitting .274 and he has an OBP of .348. He has collected 17 hits so far while he's scored 7 runs and drove in 5. He has earned a walk 7 times and has punched out 5 times. The Nationals as a unit have 117 base hits, including 27 doubles and 18 homers. They have 6 stolen bases while they've been thrown out 3 times. Washington as a team has walked 51 times this year and they have struck out 121 times. They've had 94 men left on base and have an OPS of .757. They score 4.43 runs per game and have totaled 62 runs so far this season.

Minnesota Twins Betting Trends

The Minnesota Twins are 5-10-0 against the over/under so far this season

The Minnesota Twins are 7-8-0 against the run line so far this season

Washington Nationals Betting Trends

The Washington Nationals are 5-8-1 against the over/under so far this season

The Washington Nationals are 9-5-0 against the run line so far this season

Injuries to Watch

Minnesota Twins

04/21/16 C Kurt Suzuki Head "?" Friday vs. Washington Nationals
04/18/16 3B Trevor Plouffe Side 15-day DL (4/18)
04/13/16 P Glen Perkins Shoulder 15-day DL (4/11)
04/10/16 CF Danny Santana Hamstring 15-day DL (4/10)

Washington Nationals

04/21/16 LF Jayson Werth Hamstring "?" Friday vs. Minnesota Twins
04/20/16 P Joe Ross Finger left last game, "?" next start
04/07/16 LF Ben Revere Oblique 15-day DL (4/5)
03/31/16 P Aaron Barrett Elbow 60-day DL (4/1)

Tony's Pick: Take the Twins

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