MLB Friday April 12th Twins at Tigers Betting Preview
Minnesota Tries to Get Back Into AL Central Hunt
Detroit (7-4) is off to a great start to the 2024 campaign, sitting just 1.5 GB in the AL Central which is especially impressive considering 8 of their first 11 games have been on the road. Action heads back to Comerica Park on Friday (6:40 PM ET, Bally Sports) for a divisional meeting in the April 12th Twins at Tigers betting matchup which sees Detroit as a slight -120 favorite.
Minnesota (4-6) was able to salvage a 3-2 win over the Dodgers on Wednesday as +155 underdogs to snap a four game home losing streak. The Twins went 3-2 in their first road trip of the season, so they might be OK with being out of the Twin Cities.
Why the Twins Have Value on Friday
Minnesota’s offense was in shambles in their recent home stand, being held to three runs or less in all five games. They scored at least four runs in three of their first five road games, so maybe the road is where the heart is for this Twins club.
Even if the Minnesota bats do have a hard time getting going on Friday, the good news is they likely aren’t going to need a ton of runs to win this game. The Tigers are 24th in MLB in team BA (.218) and are bottom five in the league in runs/game (3.45).
Besides Detroit’s offense being less than stellar, another reason the Twins hope they won’t need an offensive explosion in the series opener is because Pablo Lopez (1-1, 2.84 ERA) is up in the rotation. Lopez gave up just a solo HR over 7.0 IP at Kansas City in his lone road start in 2024 and has a 2.08 ERA in two career starts vs Detroit.
Why the Tigers Have Value on Friday
One of the reasons Detroit was able to claim 2nd place in the AL Central last season was because of a solid 35-17 record against divisional opponents which included going 8-5 against these Twins. The Tigers are well on their way to continuing that trend, opening 2024 with a three game sweep over the White Sox.
Lopez is a solid starter for Minnesota, but Mark Canha and Kerry Carpenter are both hitting .500 against him for their careers (7-14). The Tigers offense as a whole might be heating up a bit as well, scoring 9 total runs in a two game split with Pittsburgh this week.
One big advantage the Tigers have is that they haven’t played since Tuesday following a scheduled off day Wednesday and a rain out on Thursday so their bullpen is fresh. Tarik Skubal (1-0, 2.92 ERA) might not need a ton of relief though as he’s completed at least 6.0 IP in both of his starts so far in 2024.
Free April 12th Twins at Tigers Betting Pick
Oddsmakers are either expecting a pitcher’s duel on Friday or are just taking into account these are two of the worst offenses in the league in setting the total for this game at just 7.
A slight lean goes towards the Tigers who were great in division games last season but the real value is on a low scoring game.
Free Pick: Tigers -120
Free Pick: Under 7
