The Minnesota Twins (65-61, 38-28 home) open up the week with a three-game series against the Boston Red Sox (62-66, 31-32 away), beginning with the series opener Monday night. The two teams have met four times already this season, with the squads splitting the contests.
Monday’s first pitch is scheduled to be thrown at 7:40 p.m. EST at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Twins come in as the betting favorite at -135, and the over/under total is nine runs.
What to Know – Boston Red Sox
Boston comes into the final week of August after taking two of three from the Tampa Bay Rays over the weekend. The Red Sox sit at the bottom of the American League East, 16 games back of their rival, the New York Yankees.
The expected starter for the series opener is right-hander Brayan Bello (0-3, 7.36 ERA, 2.09 WHIP). Bello was roughed around in his first few appearances after getting the call-up in July, but the rookie seems to have found it over his last few trips.
The 23-year-old has 22.0 innings pitched under his belt in the majors, allowing 18 earned runs on 34 hits and 12 walks while striking out 22 batters.
Rafael Devers leads the Red Sox on offense. The slugging third baseman has a team-high 25 home runs and 65 runs driven in. Shortstop Trevor Story returned to the Boston lineup over the weekend after an extended stay on the injured list, inserting another powerful bat into the Red Sox lineup.
The Red Sox are sixth in the majors batting .257 as a team and averaging 4.5 runs per contest. Boston’s pitching staff sits 25th in the league sporting a 4.50 team earned run average.
What to Know – Minnesota Twins
The Twins swept the San Francisco Giants over the weekend, closing the gap on the Cleveland Indians in the AL Central. Minnesota is just two games back of the top spot in the division.
Right-hander Dylan Bundy (7-6, 4.56 ERA, 1.21 WHIP) gets the nod on the mound for the hosts. Bundy has put together his best month of the season in August, lowering his ERA by nearly .50 points over four starts. In 2022, the 29-year-old’s thrown 108.2 innings and surrendered 55 earned runs on 108 hits and 23 walks with 77 strikeouts.
The bats of Jorge Polanco and the rest of the Twins lineup have to step up at the dish with the dynamic Bryon Buxton back on the injured list. Buxton was the team’s leader in home runs with 28 before landing on the IR for the second time this year. Polanco leads the Twins with 56 RBIs this season.
Minnesota scores 4.4 runs per contest behind an offense that hits .249 as a team, 11th in the MLB. The pitching staff for the Twins rank 17th in the majors with a 3.91 team ERA.
The Pick is In
Monday’s matchup gives us a pair of teams still holding on hope for birth in the postseason. The Twins must do it moving forward without one of their stars while the Red Sox welcome back one of theirs.
The momentum from Minnesota’s sweep of the Giants over the weekend is carried over to Monday night with an opening triumph over the Red Sox.
The Pick: Minnesota Twins ML
