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The Kansas City Royals (34-21) and Minnesota Twins (29-24) play the 2nd game a 4-game set at Target Field Tuesday. First pitch is scheduled for 7:40 p.m. ET. Let’s analyze FanDuel Sportsbook’s lines around the Royals vs. Twins odds and make our expert MLB picks and predictions for the best bets.
Season series: Twins lead 3-1
The Royals lost the series opener 6-5 as +154 underdogs Monday as the Over (8) hit. Kansas City has lost back-to-back games for the 1st time since a 2-game skid May 4-5.
The Twins have won 5 of their last 6 games. 3B José Miranda and LF Trevor Larnach both homered in the series opener for Minnesota, which cashed as a -168 favorite.
Royals at Twins projected starters
LHP Cole Ragans vs. RHP Simeon Woods Richardson
Ragans (4-3, 3.34 ERA) makes his 12th start. He has a 1.15 WHIP, 3.0 BB/9 and 11.0 K/9 in 62 IP.
- Last start: Win, 6 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 3 BB, 12 K in 8-3 home victory vs. Detroit Tigers Wednesday
- 2024 road stats: 1-1, 2.84 ERA (25 1/3 IP, 8 ER), 0.99 WHIP in 4 starts
- 2024 vs. Twins: 0-1, 3.00 ERA (6 IP, 2 ER), 5 H, 3 BB, 9 K in 1 start, a 4-1 home loss Opening Day
- Career vs. Twins: 0-1, 2.70 ERA (10 IP, 3 ER), 1.50 WHIP in 2 starts
Woods Richardson (1-0, 2.57 ERA) makes his 8th start. The rookie has a 1.11 WHIP, 1.8 BB/9 and 6.7 K/9 in 35 IP.
- Last start: No-decision, 4 2/3 IP, 0 R, 3 H, 1 BB, 1 K in 3-2 win at Washington Nationals Wednesday
- 2024 home stats: 0-0, 1.64 ERA (11 IP, 2 ER), 0.91 WHIP in 2 starts
- Has never faced Royals before
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Royals at Twins odds
Provided by FanDuel Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 12:09 a.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): Royals -126 (bet $126 to win $100) | Twins +108 (bet $100 to win $108)
- Run line (RL)/Against the spread (ATS): Royals -1.5 (+130) | Twins +1.5 (-156)
- Over/Under (O/U): 8 (O: +100 | U: -122)
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Royals at Twins picks and predictions
Prediction
Royals 3, Twins 2
Moneyline
It’s unlikely that the ROYALS (-126) will lose 3 straight games for the 1st time since April 27-29. Ragans is on a 13-inning scoreless streak over his last 2 outings and shouldn’t lose to Minnesota twice in a season.
Woods Richardson has been consistent for Minnesota, allowing 2 or fewer runs in 6 of his 7 starts, but has only pitched more than 5 1/3 innings twice this season.
Kansas City and Minnesota are 6th and 13th, respectively, in runs per game, according to Teamrankings.com. The better offense has the advantage at starting pitcher and will likely bounce back after 2 straight losses.
BET ROYALS (-126).
Run line/Against the spread
Runs may be hard to come by with Ragans and Woods Richardson on the mound. Minnesota +1.5 (-156) is more likely to hit on the run line, but I wouldn’t recommend backing the Twins in any capacity against Ragans in this spot.
PASS. Bet the ML and/or total instead.
Over/Under
The Under is 3-1-1 in Minnesota’s last 5 games, and Woods Richardson has allowed a total of just 1 run over his last 2 starts. Ragans on the mound for Kansas City also makes me lean Under, but the risk here is that the Royals have scored 7 or more runs in 5 of their last 7 games.
LEAN UNDER 8 (-122).
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