After a postponement on Friday, the Twins and Orioles played a doubleheader Saturday that was very beneficial to Minnesota. The Twins took both games and found their power stroke especially in the nightcap to climb into 1st in the Central. The April 21st AL free pick has Minnesota favored at -125 vs. Baltimore, but how will coming off playing two games yesterday impact both squads?
Can Minnesota Continue Their Hitting Prowess
The Twins lost 3 of 4 at home to Toronto but it appears getting out on the road was good for what ailed them. Minnesota won games on Saturday by a score of 6-5 in the opener and a whopping 16-7 in the evening affair. In that nightcap, four Twins batters had multi-HR nights. Mitch Garver was 3-5 with 5 RBI, Nelson Cruz had a 4 hit night, and Jonathan Schoop also hit two dingers. Eddie Rosario was 5-9 combined in both games on Saturday, hitting 3HR and knocking in 4 runs.
Coming off a double header you always worry about who is going to be in the lineup but Rosario, Cruz, and a majority of the Twins starters (except Garver) are playing in the April 21st AL free pick. That’s good news for starter Kyle Gibson as he searches for his 1st win of the season. The right-hander has allowed 12 ER in 14.2 IP this season. Gibson did go 2-0 vs. the Orioles last season and has posted a 4-2 record with a 4.89 ERA career-wise vs. Baltimore.
Can Baltimore Salvage a Win as the Series Wraps Up?
Baltimore is just a +130 home underdog in the April 21st AL free pick which doesn’t seem like much for a team that has won just 3 of their last 12 games. All three of those victories came in the last 8 days though and were somewhat impressive. That includes taking 2 of the last 3 from Boston in the series at Fenway and capturing the finale at 1st place Tampa Bay. 5 O’s batters have faced Gibson in their careers, led by Jonathan Villar (4-6, .667) and Chris Davis (5-18, 2HR). The team has a cumulative .314 average vs. the Minnesota starter.
The Orioles may need a lot of offense on Sunday considering the way Dylan Bundy has pitched so far this season. The right-hander has allowed 3ER or more in each of his four starts this season and 10 days ago allowed 4 HR in 5 IP vs. Oakland. Minnesota’s C.J. Cron has 3HR and a 2B in just 13 AB vs. Bundy and Byron Buxton has gone 3-7 (.429) vs. the Orioles starter in his career.
April 21st AL Free Pick Betting
The Twins are coming with a mostly complete lineup looking for the sweep on Sunday. The ML is worth paying up for at -152 but Minnesota should be able to get to Bundy and subsequently a thinned out bullpen after the double header yesterday, breaking things open late.
AL Free Pick: Minnesota Twins RL -1.5 (+100)
