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

Game: Minnesota Twins vs Kansas City Royals

Date: Saturday, August 8, 2020

Location: Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, MO

TV: FSN/FSKC

Odds/Point Spread: Twins (-177) Royals (+163)

Salvador Perez and the Kansas City Royals (4-10, 5th in AL Central) play the Minnesota Twins (10-3, 1st in AL Central) at Kauffman Stadium on Saturday. The Royals open this matchup at +163 while the Twins are priced at -177. The over/under is set at 9. The pitchers who are expected to start are Jake Odorizzi and Danny Duffy.

Key Minnesota Twins Injuries

8/7/2020 Josh Donaldson 3B Calf Expected to be out until at least Aug 8
8/6/2020 Jake Odorizzi SP Back Expected to be out until at least Aug 8
8/6/2020 Willians Astudillo C Not Injury Related Expected to be out until at least Aug 10
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 Probable for Aug 7
8/5/2020 Bubba Starling CF Undisclosed Expected to be out until at least Aug 15
8/5/2020 Glenn Sparkman RP Forearm Expected to be out until at least Aug 14
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 10-3 overall record this season. Odorizzi has pitched in 1,028 innings and has earned 983 punchouts thus far in his career. His earned run average is 3.89 (444 ER's allowed) and he has a WHIP of 1.238. He has given up 918 base knocks (8.0 hits per 9 innings) and has had 355 free passes. Odorizzi (62-55 career win-loss record) is the owner of a FIP of 4.14 while he has faced 4,321 opposing batters during his time in the major leagues. The bullpen has an earned run average of 3.27 and they have given up 41 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .192 against the bullpen and they've struck out 66 hitters and walked 20 batters. As a team, Minnesota allows 6.6 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 2.97. The Twins pitchers collectively have given up 84 base hits and 38 earned runs. They have allowed 13 home runs this season, ranking them 19th in the league. Minnesota as a pitching staff has walked 40 batters and struck out 113. They have walked 3.1 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 3.63.

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

Hitting Statistics

As a team Minnesota is hitting .236, good for 13th in the league. The Twins hold a .414 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .316, which is good for 12th in baseball. They rank 16th in MLB with 7.5 hits per game. Nelson Cruz is hitting .373 with an on-base percentage of .418. He has 19 hits this season in 51 at bats with 15 runs batted in. He has a slugging percentage of .608 and an OPS+ of 189. Jorge Polanco is hitting .294 this year and he has an on-base percentage of .333. He has totaled 15 hits and he has driven in 5 men in 51 at bats. His OPS+ is 102 while his slugging percentage is at .373. The Twins have 98 hits, including 14 doubles and 20 home runs. Minnesota has walked 44 times so far this season and they have struck out 106 times as a unit. They have left 72 men on base and have a team OPS of .731. They score 5.23 runs per contest and have scored a total of 68 runs this year.

Useful Pitching Statistics

Kansas City has a 4-10 overall mark this year. Thus far in his career, Duffy has given up 1,015 hits while earning 942 strikeouts in 1,070 frames. He has conceded a total of 473 earned runs while earning a WHIP of 1.316 and having a FIP of 4.2. His strikeout to walk ratio is 2.40 and he has faced 4,543 hitters during his career. Duffy (60-63 record in his career) has earned a 3.98 ERA while allowing 8.5 hits per 9 innings. The bullpen has an earned run average of 3.53 and they have given up 66 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .232 against the Royals bullpen. Their relievers have struck out 63 batters and walked 26 opposing hitters. As a team, Kansas City allows 8.8 hits per nine innings while striking out 8.9 batters per nine innings. They are 13th in the league in team earned run average at 4.09. The Royals pitchers as a team have surrendered 118 base knocks and 55 earned runs this season. They have given up 18 home runs this year, which ranks 4th in Major League Baseball. Kansas City as a staff has walked 48 hitters and struck out 119 batters. They give up a walk 3.6 times per 9 innings while they strike out 8.9 per 9. Their team WHIP is 1.37 while their FIP as a staff is 4.46.

Hitting Statistics

As a team, they are batting .251, good for 7th in the league. The Royals hold a .417 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .292, which is good for 25th in baseball. They rank 6th in MLB with 8.7 hits per contest. Salvador Perez comes into this matchup batting .293 with an OBP of .305. He has 17 hits this year along with 7 RBI in 58 AB's. He maintains a slugging percentage of .466 with an OPS+ of 115. Whit Merrifield is hitting .298 this season and he has an OBP of .344. He has collected 17 hits in 57 at bats while driving in 11 runs. He has an OPS+ of 151 and a slugging percentage of .561. The Royals as a unit have 122 base hits, including 32 doubles and 15 homers. Kansas City has walked 24 times this year and they have struck out on 121 occasions. They have had 85 men left on base and have an OPS of .709. They have scored 4.14 runs per game and totaled 58 runs this season.

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

Guy's Pick: Take the Royals (+163)

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