Minnesota opens its homestand as solid
MLB odds and money line favorites against the Detroit Tigers in a game that matches Brian Duensing and Armando Galarraga on the mound.
spread odds betting odds handicapping
After just their third day off in over a month, the Minnesota Twins begin a nine-game homestand tonight against the Detroit Tigers. The Twins, who own the second best home record in the American League, will look to shake off the effects of a seven-game road trip as they begin an extended stay at Target Field.
Maybe their recent roadie didn't go quite as well as they had hoped, going 3-4 including three one-run losses, but the Twins can’t complain much about where they are in the standings. Minnesota (75-56) lost its first three contests at Texas to start the road swing, but won three of four to close it out and now lead the second-place White Sox by four games in the AL Central.
Despite a slew of injuries to the likes of Justin Morneau and Nick Punto, the Twins have been on top in the division since August 12. Minnesota is 40-22 at home, winning 11 of its last 13 games at Target Field and recording five shutouts in the process. Only the Yankees (43-22) have a better home record in the AL.
The Twins, who are 5-1 at home against the Tigers this year, will turn to Brian Duensing (7-2, 2.19 ERA) in the opener. The 27-year-old lefty started the season in the bullpen, but after making 39 relief appearances he was moved into the rotation. He has responded in a big way going 4-1 with a 2.66 ERA in seven starts, including a splendid 2-0 record and 0.53 ERA in two home starts.
Duensing has faced the Tigers five times in relief this season, twirling 4 1/3 scoreless innings. He was 1-1 with a 4.09 ERA in two starts against them as a rookie last year and is now 9-2 in 16 career starts.
Detroit (65-66) will counter with Armando Gallaraga (4-5, 4.04), a player who will forever be joined at the hip by umpire Jim Joyce who cost the likeable right-hander a no-hitter earlier in the year. Gallaraga hasn’t done much since his flirtation with history going 0-4 with a 7.16 ERA in five starts, including June 29 when he allowed six runs in four innings of an 11-4 defeat against the Twins. That outing was typical of his struggles against Minnesota. He’s 1-6 lifetime with a bloated 6.14 ERA.
Ryan Raburn has keyed the Tigers recent offensive resurgence. The scrappy utility man hit a pair of homers and drove in four runs on Sunday and after beginning August hitting .211, has boosted his average 43 points.
Miguel Cabrera remains the top producer for Jim Leyland’s club. The Detroit first baseman became the first player in the majors to top the century mark in RBIs and now leads MLB with 107 runs batted in. He’s second in the AL with 33 homers and a.342 average trailing Jose Bautista and Josh Hamilton respectively in those categories.
Minnesota’s offensive fortunes for the most part have been tied to Joe Mauer and Delmon Young. Mauer is hitting .327 with eight homers and 69 runs batted in while Young is at .305 with 16 home runs and 91 RBIs. Mauer and Denard Span have both enjoyed a fair amount of success against Gallaraga with the Twins catcher batting .450 (9-for-20) with two home runs, 10 RBIs and five walks, while Span is hitting .563 (9-for-16) with four RBIs and two walks.
Duensing and the Twins odds opened at -172 money line favorites with the total at 8 ½. The Tigers odds are not that promising as they have gone 7-19 in their last 26 games as an underdog while Minnesota is 6-2 when following a loss. The Twins have also won seven of their first 12 meetings and have won seven of their last 10 overall hitting .311 and outscoring their opponents 66-24 over that stretch.
To me the Twins might be the most impressive of all the division leaders. They’ve survived and even prospered despite a wave of injuries (Morneau, Punto, Jose Mijares, Ron Mahay, Kevin Slowey, Joe Nathan and Jim Thome) that would have stopped other teams dead in their tracks. From ownership to management to player development, the Twins are the blueprint that other teams should try to follow. Ron Gardenhire in particular remains one of the most underrated managers in baseball.
The weather tonight at Target Field is expected to be hot and humid with temperatures in the 70’s and a chance of scattered thundershowers.
Here are the probable starters for the remainder of the series:
Wednesday: Max Scherzer vs. Francisco Liriano
Thursday, Justin Verlander (14-8, 3.58) vs. Scott Baker (12-9, 4.55)