Minnesota Twins vs Kansas City Royals Prediction, 8/21/2020 MLB Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Minnesota Twins vs Kansas City Royals

Date: Friday, August 21, 2020

Location: Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, MO

TV: FSN/FSKC

Odds/Point Spread: Twins (-148) Royals (+137)

Kauffman Stadium is the site where Whit Merrifield and the Kansas City Royals (10-15, 5th in AL Central) will play the Minnesota Twins (16-9, 1st in AL Central) on Friday. The odds on this contest have the Twins coming in at -148 and the Royals are at +137. The total has been set at 9. The expected starting pitchers will be Jake Odorizzi and Danny Duffy.

Key Minnesota Twins Injuries

8/20/2020 Josh Donaldson 3B Calf Expected to be out until at least Aug 28
8/19/2020 Mitch Garver C Side Probable for Aug 20
8/19/2020 Cody Stashak RP Back Expected to be out until at least Aug 27
8/19/2020 Luis Arraez 2B Knee Probable for Aug 20
8/9/2020 Homer Bailey SP Biceps Expected to be out until at least Aug 21

Key Kansas City Royals Injuries

8/19/2020 Salvador Perez C Eye Expected to be out until at least Aug 21
8/16/2020 Daniel Tillo RP Elbow Out for the season
8/16/2020 Jake Junis SP Back Expected to be out until at least Aug 25
8/15/2020 Foster Griffin RP Elbow Out for the season
8/12/2020 Randy Rosario RP Arm Expected to be out until at least Aug 31
8/10/2020 Franchy Cordero RF Wrist Expected to be out until at least Sep 24
8/8/2020 Nick Heath CF Hamstring Expected to be out until at least Aug 21
8/8/2020 Mike Montgomery SP Lat Expected to be out until at least Sep 15
8/7/2020 Glenn Sparkman RP Forearm Expected to be out until at least Sep 18
7/16/2020 Kelvin Gutierrez 3B Elbow Expected to be out until at least Sep 1

Useful Pitching Statistics

The Twins have a 16-9 overall record this season. Odorizzi has taken the mound for 1,035 innings and has tallied 991 strikeouts during his career. His earned run average is 3.89 (448 earned runs allowed) and he has a WHIP of 1.238. He has conceded 925 base knocks (8.0 hits per nine innings) and has had 357 walks. Odorizzi (62-55 career win-loss mark) holds a FIP of 4.15 and he has faced 4,351 opposing hitters in the majors. The bullpen has an earned run average of 3.46 and they have given up 91 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .215 against the bullpen and they've struck out 116 hitters and walked 34 batters. As a team, Minnesota allows 7.3 hits per nine innings while striking out 8.8 batters per nine innings. They are 4th in the league in team earned run average at 3.46. The Twins pitchers collectively have given up 176 base hits and 84 earned runs. They have allowed 33 home runs this season, ranking them 9th in the league. Minnesota as a pitching staff has walked 73 batters and struck out 213. They have walked 3 men per 9 innings while striking out 8.8 per 9. They have a team WHIP of 1.14 and their FIP as a unit is 4.23.

Related: Get MLB predictions on all of today's games

Hitting Statistics

As a team Minnesota is hitting .236, good for 18th in the league. The Twins hold a .409 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .314, which is good for 19th in baseball. They rank 19th in MLB with 7.6 hits per game. Jorge Polanco is hitting .284 with an on-base percentage of .327. He has 27 hits this season in 95 at bats with 12 runs batted in. He has a slugging percentage of .358 and an OPS+ of 90. Nelson Cruz is hitting .337 this year and he has an on-base percentage of .416. He has totaled 30 hits and he has driven in 23 men in 89 at bats. His OPS+ is 190 while his slugging percentage is at .652. The Twins have 191 hits, including 26 doubles and 38 home runs. Minnesota has walked 84 times so far this season and they have struck out 218 times as a unit. They have left 155 men on base and have a team OPS of .723. They score 4.76 runs per contest and have scored a total of 119 runs this year.

Useful Pitching Statistics

Kansas City has a 10-15 overall mark this year. So far in his career, Duffy has surrendered 1,022 base knocks and he has 954 K's in 1,079 innings pitched. He has given up 478 ER's while earning a WHIP of 1.313 and a FIP of 4.2. He has a SO/W ratio of 2.42 and he has gone up against 4,580 batters during his MLB career. Duffy (61-63 career mark) has earned a 3.99 ERA and has conceded 8.5 hits per 9 innings. The bullpen has an earned run average of 3.59 and they have given up 96 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .219 against the Royals bullpen. Their relievers have struck out 110 batters and walked 42 opposing hitters. As a team, Kansas City allows 8.2 hits per nine innings while striking out 9.1 batters per nine innings. They are 7th in the league in team earned run average at 3.96. The Royals pitchers as a team have surrendered 190 base knocks and 92 earned runs this season. They have given up 37 home runs this year, which ranks 6th in Major League Baseball. Kansas City as a staff has walked 88 hitters and struck out 211 batters. They give up a walk 3.8 times per 9 innings while they strike out 9.1 per 9. Their team WHIP is 1.33 while their FIP as a staff is 4.90.

Hitting Statistics

As a team, they are batting .245, good for 15th in the league. The Royals hold a .410 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .304, which is good for 25th in baseball. They rank 16th in MLB with 8.0 hits per contest. Whit Merrifield comes into this matchup batting .302 with an OBP of .358. He has 29 hits this year along with 17 RBI in 96 AB's. He maintains a slugging percentage of .510 with an OPS+ of 134. Maikel Franco is hitting .253 this season and he has an OBP of .281. He has collected 23 hits in 91 at bats while driving in 13 runs. He has an OPS+ of 109 and a slugging percentage of .505. The Royals as a unit have 199 base hits, including 46 doubles and 28 homers. Kansas City has walked 62 times this year and they have struck out on 220 occasions. They have had 152 men left on base and have an OPS of .714. They have scored 3.88 runs per game and totaled 97 runs this season.

Who will win tonight's Twins/Royals MLB game against the spread?

Guy's Pick: Take the Royals (+137)

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