Minnesota Twins vs Kansas City Royals Predictions, MLB Picks, Betting Tips 8/7/2020

Game: Minnesota Twins vs Kansas City Royals

Date: Friday, August 7, 2020

Location: Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, MO

TV: FSN/FSKC

Odds/Point Spread: Twins (-170) Royals (+157)

Kauffman Stadium is the site where Whit Merrifield and the Kansas City Royals (3-10, 5th in AL Central) will take on the Minnesota Twins (10-2, 1st in AL Central) on Friday. The Twins open this game at -170 while the Royals are priced at +157. The total has been set at 9. The expected starting pitchers are Devin Smeltzer and Jakob Junis.

Key Minnesota Twins Injuries

8/6/2020 Willians Astudillo C Not Injury Related Expected to be out until at least Aug 10
8/6/2020 Jake Odorizzi SP Back Expected to be out until at least Aug 8
8/6/2020 Josh Donaldson 3B Calf Expected to be out until at least Aug 7
8/4/2020 Rich Hill SP Shoulder Expected to be out until at least Aug 14
8/2/2020 Homer Bailey SP Biceps Expected to be out until at least Aug 10
8/1/2020 Zack Littell RP Hamstring Expected to be out until at least Aug 11

Key Kansas City Royals Injuries

8/6/2020 Franchy Cordero RF Wrist Expected to be out until at least Aug 7
8/5/2020 Glenn Sparkman RP Forearm Expected to be out until at least Aug 14
8/5/2020 Bubba Starling CF Undisclosed Expected to be out until at least Aug 15
8/3/2020 Randy Rosario RP Arm Expected to be out until at least Aug 7
8/2/2020 Chance Adams RP Undisclosed Expected to be out until at least Aug 10
8/2/2020 Hunter Dozier 3B Illness Expected to be out until at least Aug 14
7/31/2020 Foster Griffin RP Forearm Out for the season
7/28/2020 Mike Montgomery SP Lat Expected to be out until at least Aug 14
7/16/2020 Kelvin Gutierrez 3B Elbow Expected to be out until at least Sep 1

Useful Pitching Statistics

The Twins have a 10-2 overall record this season. Smeltzer has pitched in 53 frames and has 45 strikeouts thus far in his career. His ERA is 4.57 (27 earned runs allowed) and he has a WHIP of 1.353. He has given up 58 base knocks (9.8 hits per nine innings) with 14 free passes. Smeltzer (3-2 win-loss mark in his career) is the owner of a FIP of 4.80 while facing 225 hitters in the majors. The bullpen has an earned run average of 2.88 and they have given up 37 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .184 against the bullpen and they've struck out 62 hitters and walked 19 batters. As a team, Minnesota allows 6.5 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 2.69. The Twins pitchers collectively have given up 77 base hits and 32 earned runs. They have allowed 12 home runs this season, ranking them 18th in the league. Minnesota as a pitching staff has walked 38 batters and struck out 105. They have walked 3.2 men per 9 innings while striking out 8.8 per 9. They have a team WHIP of 1.08 and their FIP as a unit is 3.60.

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

Hitting Statistics

As a team Minnesota is hitting .235, good for 15th in the league. The Twins hold a .406 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .317, which is good for 11th in baseball. They rank 17th in MLB with 7.4 hits per game. Jorge Polanco is hitting .261 with an on-base percentage of .306. He has 12 hits this season in 46 at bats with 5 runs batted in. He has a slugging percentage of .348 and an OPS+ of 90. Nelson Cruz is hitting .391 this year and he has an on-base percentage of .440. He has totaled 18 hits and he has driven in 15 men in 46 at bats. His OPS+ is 212 while his slugging percentage is at .652. The Twins have 89 hits, including 14 doubles and 17 home runs. Minnesota has walked 41 times so far this season and they have struck out 99 times as a unit. They have left 65 men on base and have a team OPS of .723. They score 5.25 runs per contest and have scored a total of 63 runs this year.

Useful Pitching Statistics

Kansas City has a 3-10 overall mark this year. During his pro baseball career, Junis has conceded 198 hits and he has 166 K's in 179 innings pitched. He has allowed a total of 104 ER's while holding a WHIP of 1.440 and having a FIP of 4.8. His strikeout to walk ratio is 2.77 and he has gone up against 789 batters so far in his pro baseball career. Junis (9-14 career record) has a 5.22 ERA while giving up 9.9 hits per 9 innings. The bullpen has an earned run average of 3.47 and they have given up 62 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .231 against the Royals bullpen. Their relievers have struck out 59 batters and walked 26 opposing hitters. As a team, Kansas City allows 8.9 hits per nine innings while striking out 8.7 batters per nine innings. They are 16th in the league in team earned run average at 4.26. The Royals pitchers as a team have surrendered 111 base knocks and 53 earned runs this season. They have given up 18 home runs this year, which ranks 3rd in Major League Baseball. Kansas City as a staff has walked 46 hitters and struck out 108 batters. They give up a walk 3.7 times per 9 innings while they strike out 8.7 per 9. Their team WHIP is 1.40 while their FIP as a staff is 4.65.

Hitting Statistics

As a team, they are batting .233, good for 16th in the league. The Royals hold a .374 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .274, which is good for 27th in baseball. They rank 9th in MLB with 8.0 hits per contest. Whit Merrifield comes into this matchup batting .283 with an OBP of .321. He has 15 hits this year along with 9 RBI in 53 AB's. He maintains a slugging percentage of .509 with an OPS+ of 134. Salvador Perez is hitting .264 this season and he has an OBP of .278. He has collected 14 hits in 53 at bats while driving in 5 runs. He has an OPS+ of 96 and a slugging percentage of .415. The Royals as a unit have 104 base hits, including 25 doubles and 12 homers. Kansas City has walked 20 times this year and they have struck out on 112 occasions. They have had 77 men left on base and have an OPS of .648. They have scored 3.46 runs per game and totaled 45 runs this season.

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

Guy's Pick: Take the Royals (+157)

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