The Boston Red Sox and Minnesota Twins are really familiar with each other as they both claim Fort Myers are their Spring Training home, but this’ll be their first meeting of the year that actually counts. Surprisingly, both of these teams sit with similar records as this series begins.
This series will be contested from Friday, May 5, 2017 through Sunday, May 7, 2017 at Target Field in Minnesota. The games on both Friday and Saturday will be shown on MLB Network in out-of-market regions.
Bet on MLB odds at BookMaker.eu every day of the season.
Pitching Matchups
With David Price out, Steven Wright struggling and Rick Porcello merely okay, Eduardo Rodriguez has been a godsend for the Sox in the early part of the season and he gets the ball on Friday, bringing his 2.70 ERA to the table.
E-Rod’s numbers look very strong, but there has been some luck involved. There’s no doubt that Rodriguez has great, electric stuff, but his control of it is an issue. He’s already walked 14 batters in 23.1 innings of work and while he’s also struck out 31, he’s been helped a lot by an artificially suppressed BABIP against him.
In his last two starts, against the Orioles and Cubs, Rodriguez has allowed just six hits and one run in 12 combined innings.
Phil Hughes will get the ball opposite of Rodriguez and he comes into play with a 4-1 record, but his ERA is 5.06 and his WHIP is 1.425. He’s been helped greatly by his offense, providing excellent run support. In his six starts, Hughes has just two quality starts.
Saturday’s starter is still up in the air for Minnesota as they could recall Adalberto Mejia who did pitch well in his first start with Rochester after being sent down. Alternatively, they could look to Jose Berrios who has a 1.09 ERA in five starts or to Tyler Duffey who has been very good in the pen. Either way, we do know the Sox will turn to Porcello in hopes he returns to his reigning Cy Young form.
Porcello is just 1-4 with a 4.46 ERA and 1.376 WHIP in 36.1 innings this year. He’s seen his strikeout rate jump from last year which should be a good sign, but his walk and hit rates are also elevated, leading to more pitches and fewer outs.
While the numbers aren’t great, he has thrown three straight quality starts and five of his six outings have classified as quality with the only exception being an eight run, 4.1 inning clunker that’s skewed his stats.
Moving on to the series finale, we’re looking at two of the most dominating pitchers of the year matching up with Chris Sale pitching for the Sox and Ervin Santana taking the mound for the Twins.
Sale hasn’t gotten much support and is just 2-2, but he’s got a 1.38 ERA and 0.745 WHIP has he has just dominated the opposition. He’s already thrown 45.2 innings and has 63 strikeouts in six games, that averaging more than 10 per game. He’s also walked just eight batters and given up only two bombs.
One thing to watch, however, is the former White Sox has faced the Twins many times and he’s not been that good against them. He is 8-6, but he’s got a 4.28 ERA and in 12 games at Target Field he’s got a 4.44 ERA.
Santana is 5-0 this season and has allowed just three runs in 41 innings for a 0.66 ERA. He’s been basically unhittable with just 16 hits allowed and adding in 13 walks, his WHIP still leads the lead—as does his ERA—at 0.707. His 602 ERA+ indicates just how ridiculous of a start he has had.
He’s been a good pitcher prone to an off year here and there over his career, but this start is just a completely different situation.
Who's Hot?
Obviously Santana and Sale fall under this category, but each team has a few others to watch, too.
The Twins have seen Miguel Sano thrive in his return to third base. Sano looked lost in the outfield last year and struggled at the plate some, too. A return to his natural position has allowed him to free his mind and that’s paid off at the dish.
Sano is known for his power, but he’s also batting .317 though he does have 15 extra base hits, including eight home runs and he leads Minnesota in RBIs with 27. Max Kepler is having a good season as well, batting .278 and getting on base at a .370 clip while Robbie Grossman has a .405 OBP.
For Boston, the offense has been a disappointment. Even without David Ortiz, this team is still stacked with talented bats including the MVP runner up last year in Mookie Betts. He’s .281, but has just two homers and hasn’t really turned it on, yet. Mitch Moreland was doing well, but his bat has gone cold. Xander Bogaerts has swung the bat well since moving to the leadoff spot.
The really hot part of this team right now is the bullpen, holding leads and keeping the team close while the offense finds itself.
Craig Kimbrel has been lights out in the closer role, looking like the guy that dominated in Atlanta and the cobbled together crew have all come through with John Ferrell pulling the right strings. The unit ranks third in baseball with a 2.22 ERA.
Who's Not?
Some guys you expect more consistency from haven’t provided that to this point.
Joe Maurer is hitting .226 with a .270 OBP. Brian Dozier would’ve fit in this category a week or two ago, but is starting to heat up now to help protection Sano, but Byron Buxton even with his at bats looking a bit better is still hitting just .153, but the strike out rate has started to drop considerably.
In the pen, the Twins have been average thanks to good work from Brandon Kintzler and Duffey, but have had Matt Belisle, Ryan Pressly and Michael Tonkins struggle.
Boston, on the other hand, Jackie Bradley Jr. is hitting .184 with a OPS+ at just 51, meaning he’s been just 51% as good as the average offensive player.
Sandy Leon and Dustin Pedroia have delivered poor offensive numbers, too, with Pedroia hitting .277, but having just one extra base hit while Leon is getting on base just 21.1-percent of the time.
BookMaker offers play-by-play betting odds for live sporting events every day! The user-friendly wagering interface on your smartphone provides an easy way to place bets on the go.
Mobile betting lines are updated by the minute, so click here to start gambling on thrilling live action at BookMaker Sportsbook!
