Minnesota Twins vs Tampa Bay Rays Betting Pick & Prediction 9/5/24

The Twins and Rays will face off in an AL matchup at 1:10 PM ET at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, FL. Minnesota is 75-64 but has lost two straight, and they are 3rd in the AL Central. The Rays are 69-70 and have won two in a row, putting them 4th in the AL East.

Thursday’s money line odds have the Twins as the favorite at -141, while the Rays are sitting at +120. The over/under line is currently at 7 runs, and BSSUN is carrying this game on TV. Pablo Lopez is starting for the Twins, and he is facing off against Taj Bradley.

MINNESOTA TWINS VS TAMPA BAY RAYS BETTING PICK

The Pick: Minnesota Twins Moneyline -141

This game will be played at Tropicana Field at 1:10 ET on Thursday, September 5th.

HOW TO BET THE TWINS VS RAYS:

• We have the Twins winning by a score of 5 to 4
• However, if you’re looking for a run line pick, we like the Rays to cover
• As for an over/under pick, we have this game finishing with 9 runs and like the over

It was all Tampa Bay in the last game of this series, as the Rays took down the Twins by a score of 9-4. The Rays offense only had one more hit than the Twins and struck out five more times, but still picked up a convincing win. Heading into the game, they were at +103 on the money line.

This game featured a starting pitching matchup between Cole Sulser for the Rays and Ronny Henriquez for the Twins. Sulser only went two innings but didn’t give up a hit or an earned run. On the other side, Henriquez also only went one inning and gave up one hit and no earned runs.

Tampa Bay’s two and three hitters, Yandy Diaz and Jose Caballero, each had two hits and combined for three RBIs. Taylor Walls also had a three RBI game at the plate.

Twins Records & Stats

Minnesota is 75-64 overall this season, and they are 4.5 games behind the Guardians for the AL Central lead. The Twins have dropped two straight games, and they are 3-7 across their last ten games. So far, they have gone 28-17 in AL Central matchups.

At home, the Twins are 39-30 this year and 36-34 on the road. As the favorite, Minnesota has gone 59-37 this year and 16-27 as the underdog. The Twins have dropped two straight games on the road, and their overall road record is 36-34 this year.

Minnesota has been a solid run line bet on the road this season, going 37-33. However, they have lost their last run line bet on the road. The Twins have an average run margin of 0.3 runs per game this season, and they have a scoring margin of 0.2 runs per game on the road. They have been a better run line bet at home, going 29-40, and their scoring margin is 0.5 runs per game at home. The Twins have been a better run line bet as an underdog this season, going 23-20, compared to 43-53 as a favorite. In their wins, they have an average run margin of 3.7 runs per game, while in their losses, their average run margin is -3.6 runs per game.

Minnesota is on the road against the Tampa Bay Rays today, and the over/under line is set at 7 runs. The Twins have a combined run average of 9.2 runs per game this season, and their over/under record is 71-64. Their games have had an average over/under line of 8 runs, and when the line has been set at 7 runs, their over/under record is 5-6. The vast majority of their games this season have had over/under lines set higher than 7 runs, with 88.5% of their games having higher lines.

Pitching for the Twins today is right-hander Pablo López. He comes into the game with a record of 13-8 and an ERA of 4.05. So far this season, López has made 27 starts, and he has pitched well on the road, coming in with a record of 7-4 and an ERA of 4.91. In his last outing, López picked up the win, going 7 2/3 innings and not giving up a run. Before that, he had gone three straight starts without giving up a homer. López’s WHIP for the season is 1.12, and he has a total of 15 quality starts.

Carlos Santana and Ryan Jeffers are currently tied for the team lead in home runs for the Twins, with each player having gone deep 20 times this season. Santana is also the team’s leader in RBIs, with 60, while Jeffers is 2nd on the club with 59 RBIs. Willi Castro is batting .250 for the season and is 3rd on the team with 52 RBIs. Castro also comes into the game with a six-game hitting streak.

As a team, the Twins are 9th in scoring at 4.8 runs per game and have been even better at home, averaging 4.9 runs per contest. Minnesota is also one of the league’s top home run-hitting teams, coming in 9th in the league. Currently, they are 7th in team batting average, hitting a combined .252.

Rays Records & Stats

The Rays are 69-70 overall this season, and they trail the Orioles by 11 games in the AL East. Currently, they are in 4th place in the division, just a half-game behind the Red Sox for the 3rd spot. Tampa Bay has won two straight games, and they are 4-6 across their last 10.

At home, the Rays are 37-37 this year and 32-33 on the road. As the underdog, the Rays are 34-40 this season, and they are 35-30 when favored. Tampa Bay’s overall series record is 21-18-5, and they have lost three straight series.

When the Tampa Bay Rays win, they do so by an average of 2.7 runs per game. When they lose, they lose by an average of 3.5 runs per game. Their run line record is 70-69, with a run line record of 33-41 at home and 37-28 on the road. They are 46-28 against the run line as the underdog and 24-41 as the favorite. They have covered the run line in three straight games as the underdog.

Today’s over/under line of 7 runs for the Tampa Bay Rays’ game against the Minnesota Twins is the lowest line of the season for the Rays. The over/under record for the Rays this season is 63-69, and the average over/under line for their games is 8 runs. The Rays have only had two games with an over/under line of 7 runs this season, and their record in those games is 2-3-5. Overall, 91.4% of their games have had higher over/under lines than today’s line of 7 runs.

Taj Bradley gets the start for the Rays today vs. the Twins and will be looking to bounce back from a rough outing vs. the Padres. In that start, he gave up 8 earned runs in just 2 1/3 innings of work. Bradley has taken the loss in each of his last three outings and has given up at least two homers in three of his last four starts. For the season, he is 6-9 with a 4.35 ERA and has a WHIP of 1.22. Opposing batters are hitting .233 off Bradley this year. Out of his 20 starts, he has eight quality starts and is averaging 9.93 strikeouts per nine innings.

Over the last eight games, Josh Lowe has been swinging a hot bat for the Rays, going 11/30 (.367) with four runs and one home run. Yandy Diaz has also been swinging the bat well, going 7/21 with three homers in his last six games. For the season, Diaz is batting .276 with a team-leading 61 RBIs.

As a team, the Rays are averaging just 3.9 runs per game, which is 28th in the MLB. They are also near the bottom of the league in home runs and team batting average. Tampa Bay’s offense has been especially bad at home, averaging just 3.8 runs per contest.