ODDS ANALYSIS
Although they’re off to their best start since their last AL Central title five years ago, the surprising Twins haven’t been able to solve the team that has won the past four division crowns. The Twins lost for the sixth time in seven games against Detroit with Tuesday’s 2-1 10-inning setback and have been outscored 24-2 in four games at Comerica Park with the under at 3-1. The Twins are a good bet this season in the black 6.59 units, but sometimes there’s a team that just has your number and for the Twins that team is Detroit. Minnesota is down 4.82 units in its seven games versus the Tigers and has been outscored 41-16.
The Tigers have owned the Twins this season preventing them from getting any closer to the top of the division standings. Detroit stopped a two-game skid with Tuesday’s 2-1 extra-inning win, improving to 6-1 against the Twinkies this season in the black 4.63 units. For the season the Tigers are in the black 5.36 units on the moneyline and 4.89 units on the runline. The teams cashed the under Tuesday and the under is 7-3 in Detroit’s last 10 games.
PITCHING MATCHUP
Minnesota’s Mike Pelfrey (3-0, 2.62 ERA) remained perfect improving to 3-0 with seven innings of two-run ball against the Indians on Friday. He scattered six hits, walked two and didn’t strike out a batter. He’s gone at least seven innings in three of his last four starts.
Pelfrey got the win against Sanchez and the Tigers on Apr. 28 giving up one earned run on three hits with seven strikeouts. He has a lifetime record of 3-3 with a 3.98 ERA in 40.2 innings over seven starts against the Tigers.
Anibal Sanchez (2-4, 5.44 ERA) was hit hard in a losing effort Saturday against the Royals allowing six runs – five earned – on nine hits over six innings walking three with two strikeouts. He allowed two runs in each of the first two innings, including a first-pitch leadoff home run to Alcides Escobar.
Sanchez has already faced the twins twice this season with a pair of quality starts. He dueled with Pelfrey on Apr. 28 and got the loss giving up three runs on nine hits in seven innings. On Apr. 8 he surrendered three hits in 6.2 scoreless innings with six K’s in an 11-0 win.
QUOTE TO NOTE
“It’s disappointing when you feel like you have opportunities and you don’t have as good of at-bats as we’ve been having with runners in scoring position of late. We left some opportunities out there.” – Twins manager Paul Molitor after his team went 0 for 8 with runners in scoring position in a 2-1 loss to Detroit on Tuesday
LIVE BETTING or SITUATIONAL BETTING
It’s inconceivable to think the Twins can be so good against every other team in the league yet so bad against Detroit. Granted, the Tigers are the class of the AL Central and up there with any other AL team, but come one. It’s as if the Tigers have placed a mental block right in the middle of the Twins clubhouse and they can’t get around it. But the law of averages says the Twins will break through – eventually – and Thursday is as good a day as any. The Twins weren’t expected to be so close to the top of the division as they are and it would be miraculous if they were in this position at the end of season. They are a loose group and those types are hard to predict, but expect them to get to Anibal Sanchez and the Tigers.
PROP TALK
Minnesota outfielder Torii Hunter has seen a lot in his 18 years in the big leagues but he’s never seen anything like what his Twins have done – or haven’t done – in their games in Detroit this season. So we leave it up to the veteran who’s closing in on 2,400 career hits to get the Twins some offense against the Tigers. A few months shy of his 40th birthday, Hunter has shown no signs of slowing down, leading the team in home runs and RBI’s while batting .280, but has struggled against Detroit this season, as the entire Twins roster has. Hunter is not only a great player he’s a leader on the young club and he will lead by example with a few hits off Anibal Sanchez to spark the Twins offense.
ANALYSIS AND PREDICTION
Not many expected the Twins to be hanging around the top of the division but they’ve been among baseball’s most productive clubs this season, having little issue scoring against virtually every opponent – except the Tigers. The Twins haven’t figured out the Tigers pitching, especially in Comerica Park where they’ve scored a total of two runs in four games. Hard to believe for a team that averages better than 4.5 a game. But that’s how it goes sometimes. The Twins will score against Anibal Sanchez on Thursday, but not enough to get the win.
You see teams go through ups and downs over the course of a long season and right now the Tigers’ offense is on a down turn. The potent group that hammered the baseball all over the yard in the first weeks of the season has cooled off with sluggers Miguel Cabrera and Yoenis Cespedes mired in slumps. Going against Twins ace Mike Pelfrey isn’t going to help them break out but enjoying the success they have at home against Minnesota makes the Tigers the pick in this one. The way the Tigers have dominated it might take only one run to get the win.
Detroit 4, Minnesota 2
The MLB odds for this game will be available first at BookMaker Sportsbook. Since this game can be seen by anyone with a TV, BookMaker will have a multitude of wagering options available for it. Outside of the normal lines, you can gamble on real-time moneylines, player props and inning totals. Live betting is open during every commercial break!
Load your betting bankroll from your smartphone with BookMaker’s new cashier feature! Depositing and withdrawing funds from your account has never been easier. BookMaker's live betting platform means you always have access to odds and lines to every sporting event. Click here and start wagering today! First pitch for the game between the Minnesota Twins and Detroit Tigers is scheduled for Thursday, May 14, 2015, at 1:08 p.m. ET at Comerica Park. You can watch the contest live on the MLB Network.
