Pittsburgh Pirates vs Minnesota Twins Predictions, MLB Picks, Betting Tips 8/4/2020

Game: Pittsburgh Pirates vs Minnesota Twins

Date: Tuesday, August 4, 2020

Location: Target Field in Minneapolis, MN

TV: FSN/ATPT

Odds/Point Spread: Pirates (+184) Twins (-220)

Jose Osuna and the Pittsburgh Pirates (2-7, 5th in NL Central) travel to Target Field on Tuesday where they'll take on the Minnesota Twins (7-2, 1st in AL Central). The Twins open this matchup at -220 while the Pirates are priced at +184. The total has been set at 9. The pitchers expected to start will be Joe Musgrove and Rich Hill.

Key Pittsburgh Pirates Injuries

8/3/2020 JT Riddle SS Abdomen Expected to be out until at least Aug 7
8/2/2020 Keone Kela RP Undisclosed Expected to be out until at least Aug 7
8/2/2020 Michael Feliz RP Forearm Expected to be out until at least Aug 12
8/2/2020 Chad Kuhl RP Finger Expected to be out until at least Aug 7
8/2/2020 Mitch Keller SP Oblique Expected to be out until at least Aug 12
7/28/2020 Clay Holmes RP Forearm Expected to be out until at least Aug 10
7/28/2020 Kyle Crick RP Shoulder Expected to be out until at least Aug 10
7/23/2020 Luke Maile C Finger Out for the season
6/30/2020 Chris Archer SP Shoulder Out for the season
6/30/2020 Kevin Kramer RF Hip Out for the season
2/13/2020 Jameson Taillon SP Elbow Out for the season

Key Minnesota Twins Injuries

8/3/2020 Josh Donaldson 3B Calf Expected to be out until at least Aug 5
8/2/2020 Homer Bailey SP Biceps Expected to be out until at least Aug 10
8/2/2020 Willians Astudillo C Not Injury Related 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
7/30/2020 Jake Odorizzi SP Back Expected to be out until at least Aug 5

Useful Pitching Statistics

The Pirates have a 2-7 overall record this season. Musgrove has pitched in 468 innings and has accumulated 425 punchouts in his career. His earned run average is 4.38 (228 ER's allowed) and he has a WHIP of 1.235. He has surrendered 466 hits (9.0 hits per 9 innings) and has had 112 free passes. Musgrove (28-35 mark in his career) is the owner of a FIP of 4.04 and he has gone up against 1,969 batters during his time in the majors. The bullpen has an earned run average of 4.04 and they have given up 41 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .217 against the bullpen and they've struck out 44 hitters and walked 24 batters. As a team, Pittsburgh allows 7.7 hits per nine innings while striking out 9.1 batters per nine innings. They are 15th in the league in team earned run average at 3.92. The Pirates pitchers collectively have given up 69 base hits and 35 earned runs. They have allowed 11 home runs this season, ranking them 18th in the league. Pittsburgh as a pitching staff has walked 43 batters and struck out 81. They have walked 4.8 men per 9 innings while striking out 9.1 per 9. They have a team WHIP of 1.39 and their FIP as a unit is 4.68.

Related: Get MLB picks & tips on all of today's games

Hitting Statistics

As a team Pittsburgh is hitting .177, good for 30th in the league. The Pirates hold a .299 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .241, which is good for 30th in baseball. They rank 30th in MLB with 5.8 hits per game. Jose Osuna is hitting .200 with an on-base percentage of .294. He has 3 hits this season in 15 at bats with 4 runs batted in. He has a slugging percentage of .400 and an OPS+ of 92. Colin Moran is hitting .273 this year and he has an on-base percentage of .314. He has totaled 9 hits and he has driven in 7 men in 33 at bats. His OPS+ is 188 while his slugging percentage is at .758. The Pirates have 52 hits, including 9 doubles and 9 home runs. Pittsburgh has walked 23 times so far this season and they have struck out 83 times as a unit. They have left 41 men on base and have a team OPS of .540. They score 3.33 runs per contest and have scored a total of 30 runs this year.

Useful Pitching Statistics

Minnesota has a 7-2 overall mark this year. In his pro baseball career, Hill has allowed 777 hits while he has tallied 1,006 punchouts in 942 frames. He has given up a total of 398 ER's while earning a WHIP of 1.222 and being the owner of a FIP of 4.0. His strikeout to walk ratio is 2.69 and he has gone up against 3,954 hitters in his MLB career. Hill (66-42 career record) holds a 3.80 earned run average while allowing 7.4 hits per 9 innings. The bullpen has an earned run average of 2.77 and they have given up 28 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .178 against the Twins bullpen. Their relievers have struck out 50 batters and walked 16 opposing hitters. As a team, Minnesota allows 6.2 hits per nine innings while striking out 9.3 batters per nine innings. They are 4th in the league in team earned run average at 2.7. The Twins pitchers as a team have surrendered 55 base knocks and 24 earned runs this season. They have given up 10 home runs this year, which ranks 19th in Major League Baseball. Minnesota as a staff has walked 28 hitters and struck out 83 batters. They give up a walk 3.2 times per 9 innings while they strike out 9.3 per 9. Their team WHIP is 1.04 while their FIP as a staff is 3.73.

Related: Gambling 101 - MLB Betting Tips - Tony George of Doc’s Sports

Hitting Statistics

As a team, they are batting .233, good for 19th in the league. The Twins hold a .436 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .300, which is good for 21st in baseball. They rank 20th in MLB with 7.4 hits per contest. Jorge Polanco comes into this matchup batting .270 with an OBP of .289. He has 10 hits this year along with 5 RBI in 37 AB's. He maintains a slugging percentage of .378 with an OPS+ of 90. Eddie Rosario is hitting .219 this season and he has an OBP of .306. He has collected 7 hits in 32 at bats while driving in 6 runs. He has an OPS+ of 118 and a slugging percentage of .469. The Twins as a unit have 67 base hits, including 10 doubles and 16 homers. Minnesota has walked 22 times this year and they have struck out on 79 occasions. They have had 43 men left on base and have an OPS of .735. They have scored 5.11 runs per game and totaled 46 runs this season.

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

Tony's Pick: Take the Pirates (+184)

Get $60 worth of FREE premium member picks. No Obligation. No Salesman. No Credit Card. Fast Sign up with Instant Access Click Here