Minnesota Twins vs Boston Red Sox Prediction and Betting Odds August 29
Minnesota Twins vs Boston Red Sox Betting Preview
WagerTalk MLB handicapper Andy Lang offers his analysis of Monday’s Minnesota Twins vs Boston Red Sox clash at Target Field. Minnesota trails Cleveland by two games in the AL Central as the Red Sox sit dead last in the AL East.
| Monday, August 29 | MLB Betting Notes, Courtesy of Caesars |
|---|---|
| Moneyline: | Minnesota Twins -116 vs Boston Red Sox +106 |
| Runline: | Twins -1.5 (+150) / Red Sox +1.5 (-170) |
| Total: | 7.5 Runs (Over -115 / Under -105) |
| Game Time: | 7:40pm ET / 4:40pm PT |
| Where: | Target Field in Minneapolis, MN |
| Weather: | 70 Degrees / Clear |
Minnesota Twins vs Boston Red Sox Analysis
The Boston Red Sox travel to Target Field to begin a three game series against the Minnesota Twins on Monday evening. The Minnesota Twins snapped a six game losing streak in dominant fashion by sweeping the San Francisco Giants this weekend.
Meanwhile the Red Sox took two of three at home against the Tampa Bay Rays. The rookie phenom Brayan Bello gets the nod for Boston, while Minnesota counters with the veteran righty Dylan Bundy. First pitch is scheduled for 7:40 PM EST/4:40 PST.
Streaky Twins Look To Stay Hot
The Minnesota Twins bounced back from losing six straight games with a three game sweep of the San Francisco Giants. They finished the Giants off with an 8-3 victory on Sunday and outscored them 20-5 in the series. Jake Cave went 2 for 4 with a home run, double and four RBI.
The bullpen was heavily utilized as Aaron Sanchez only lasted 3.2 innings while allowing two runs on six hits. Devin Smeltzer picked up his 5th victory after tossing 2.2 scoreless innings. Minnesota has little room for error as we move towards the end of the regular season.
They currently sit two games behind the Cleveland Guardians and three games ahead of the Chicago White Sox in the American League Central. The losers of this division will likely see themselves on the outside looking in as they are all behind the top three teams in the Wild Card standings.
The Twins lineup ranks 15th in runs scored, 11th in batting and 8th in on-base percentage. Dylan Bundy toes the rubber for Minnesota to begin the three game set. He is 7-6 with a 4.56 ERA and 1.21 WHIP on the season.
Bundy has gotten his act together in August, going 1-1 with 2.33 ERA across 19.1 innings. Bundy faced the Red Sox back in April and held them to only one run on five scattered hits across 5.1 innings of work.
Sox Slim Hopes Dwindling
The Boston Red Sox still technically have a chance at a Wild Card spot, but in reality they are running on fumes. They won two of three this weekend against the Tampa Bay Rays, after being swept in the prior three games against the Toronto Blue Jays.
On Sunday the Sox took their only loss of the series as they were thumped 12-4 against Tampa. Nick Pivetta got knocked around for five runs on eighth hits, including two home runs across five innings.
JD Martinez & Tommy Pham both hit solo-blasts, while Xander Bogaerts went 3 for 4 with an RBI. The Sox have been severely hampered by injuries this season, but have recently welcomed back Trevor Story, Rich Hill and Michael Wacha.
Boston hasn’t been able to consistently string together wins since June and now they are four games below .500 and seven games back in the Wild Card race. They still have a top ten offense as they rank 10th in runs scored, 7th in batting average and 11th in on-base percentage. Highly-touted prospect Brayan Bello will be on the bump Monday night for the Sox.
He has an 0-3 record, 7.36 ERA and 2.09 WHIP on the season. He had a rough go in his first handful of starts and was briefly put on the IL with a groin strain. Bello did bounce back with his best outing, hurling five innings of two run baseball against the Toronto Blue Jays potent lineup.
Minnesota Twins vs Boston Red Sox Prediction
The Minnesota Twins are slightly favored with a money line set at -140, while the Boston Red Sox sit at +120 with a total of 9. We should see plenty of runs in this game as three of four head-to-head meetings have cleared this total. Both teams have strong offenses and weak bullpens.
The Red Sox lineup has received a tremendous boost as Trevor Story, Kike Hernandez and Tommy Pham have returned from injuries. Dylan Bundy has been sharp recently and held Boston in check back in April.
However, current Sox sluggers have great batter vs pitcher track records against him. Current Red Sox hitters combine for a .267 batting average .890 OPS with 8 home runs in 135 at bats.
The wind is blowing out at 14 MPH at Target Field tonight and I’m confident the Red Sox can score four runs in a guaranteed nine full innings of at bats against Bundy and an inconsistent bullpen.
Prediction: Boston Red Sox Team Total Over 3.5 -140
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Meet the Author
Andy Lang has lived in Indianapolis his whole life, and like most people from the Hoosier State, he became fascinated with motor sports. That interest in motor sports turned into a desire to make money off the sport through fantasy contests and sports betting. Like most, he took his lumps when he first got started, but now he is one of the most respected NASCAR bettors in the industry. Andy has expanded that sports betting experience to become profitable in a number of other sports, transforming this interest from a side hobby to a major source of income.
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