On paper the June 29th MLB free pick is shaping up to be a solid pitcher’s matchup. Both the Twins’ Jose Berrios (8-5, 3.15 ERA) and Chicago’s Mike Montgomery (2.2, 3.39) have posted impressive May and June resumes. Of course they don’t call it the Windy City for nothing and the early morning forecast for Wrigley Field shows a 14 MPH wind blowing out to LF. To boot, the Cubs return from a game out in LA yesterday while the Twins have to simply hop the Red Line up to the North Side as they’ve been in town playing the White Sox since Tuesday. Is it Minnesota that has the best value today at +108 as oddsmakers have made Chicago slight -118 favorites.
Twins Hoping for Better Results Against This Chicago Team
Minnesota had a great opportunity to stay in the hunt in the AL Central when they opened up a 3-game series with the White Sox, who are 28-52 on the season. Like clockwork, the Twins went ahead and dropped 2 of 3 to the Pale Hose and now find themselves 8 games behind Cleveland in the division. Yesterday’s win was just Minnesota’s 2nd in the last 7 games as their offense has become anemic. Over that span the Twins bats have put up 5 games of 2 runs scored or less. SS Ehire Adrianza is the only everyday player hitting over .300 for Minnesota in the past 7 days. Beyond him it gets pretty bleak as over the last week Logan Morrison is hitting .217, Eddie Rosario .192, Brian Dozier .185, Joe Mauer .125, and Eduardo Escobar .087. Those are some ugly numbers.
The one thing the Twins have going for them in the June 29th MLB free pick is that stud pitcher Jose Berrios is on the hill. He has posted a 2.05 ERA over his last 8 outings, allowing 1ER or less in three straight starts. The right hander is coming off a 12K, 2 hit performance against Texas and will be facing the Cubs lineup for the first time in his career. If he can keep the ball down and out of the jet stream, Berrios should have another big day on Friday afternoon.
Which Cubs Team Will We See Today?
Chicago might be a bit jet lagged after the 2.000 mile trip home from LA. The Cubs did take 2 of 4 from the Dodgers including getting an 11-5 win yesterday in a Clayton Kershaw start, but that victory posted their record on the recent road trip to an abysmal 2-6 which included a sweep by the Reds in Cincinnati. In the last three games the Cubs have scored 25 runs but they posted scores of 3 or less in 4 of the 5 games prior. Javier Baez continues his assault on 2018 pitching as he’s hit .448 over the past week. Ben Zobrist (.381) and Ian Happ (.360) are also making big contributions on offense to pick up the slack for Kris Bryant (shoulder injury) and Anthony Rizzo (.214 the past week).
Joe Maddon is hoping that at least one thing is consistent in the June 29th MLB free pick – his starting pitcher. Mike Montgomery had been great since moving into the starter’s role on May 28th. His first four starts netted 4ER allowed total in 29.2 IP. The last time out however the left hander surrendered 4ER in 6 IP against the Reds. Monty has had limited samples against the current Twins lineup, but he’s had success allowing just 2 hits in 24 AB (.105).
June 29th MLB Free Pick Betting
The MLB did the Cubs right by having today’s game start at 5:05 EST instead of the usual 2:20 EST Friday games at Wrigley as Chicago returns from the West Coast. After a long road trip however, expect the Chicago bats to be a bit quiet today although the wind should help. Montgomery wasn’t his usual dominating starter self in the last outing but Berrios (on the road) is different than at home. Minnesota is 3-14 in the pitcher’s last 17 road starts and are 5-11 in their last 16 away from Target Field as a whole. The Cubs may be a bit tired, but they’ve got some momentum going that should carry into a solid home stand.
Free Pick: Chicago Cubs -118
