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The Minnesota Twins and St. Louis Cardinals open their seasons at Busch Stadium Thursday. First pitch in the opener of the 3-game set is slated for 4:15 p.m. ET. Let’s analyze BetMGM Sportsbook’s MLB odds around the Twins vs. Cardinals odds and make our expert MLB picks and predictions for the best bets.
Season series: First meeting; St. Louis won 2-1 last year
The Twins open their 2025 campaign with 6 games on the road. They are trying to move forward after faltering late last season and finishing in fourth place in the AL Central with a mark of 82-80.
The Cardinals went 83-79 last season. They clocked a runner-up finish in the NL Central. Thursday’s lid-lifter at Busch Stadium opens a 6-game home stand.
Twins at Cardinals projected starters
RHP Pablo Lopez vs. RHP Sonny Gray
Lopez (15-10, 4.08 ERA in 2024) makes his season debut. He had a 1.19 WHIP, 2.0 BB/9 and 9.6 K/9 in 185 1/3 IP across 32 starts last year.
- Looking to rebound from his first higher-than-4.00 ERA season since 2019
- 2024 road stats: 8-5, 4.50 ERA (98 IP, 49 ER), 1.19 WHIP, 9.8 K/9 in 17 starts
- 2024 vs. Cardinals: 1-0, 1 home start (Aug. 24), 7 IP, 0 R, 4 H, 1 BB, 9 K in 6-0 win
- Career vs. Cardinals: 3-2, 2.33 ERA (38 2/3 IP, 10 ER), 0.75 WHIP, 9.1 K/9 in 6 starts
- Draws a St. Louis club that owns an aggregate .475 OPS against him (per ESPN)
Gray (13-9, 3.84 ERA in 2024) makes his season debut. He had a 1.09 WHIP, 2.1 BB/9 and 11.0 K/9 in 166 1/3 IP across 28 starts last season.
- 2024 home stats: 9-5, 2.79 ERA (93 2/3 IP, 29 ER), 0.99 WHIP, 10.7 K/9 in 16 starts
- Pitched for Minnesota in 2022-23
- 2024 vs. Twins: 0-1, 1 road start (Aug. 24), 6 IP, 5 ER, 7 H, 2 BB, 7 K
- Career vs. Twins: 2-5, 5.36 ERA (47 IP, 28 ER), 1.58 WHIP, 7.7 K/9 in 9 starts
- Per ESPN, has held current Twins batters to an aggregate .540 OPS
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Twins at Cardinals odds
Provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list of MLB odds. Lines last updated Wednesday at 11:15 p.m. ET.
- Moneyline: Twins -115 (bet $115 to win $100) | Cardinals -105 (bet $105 to win $100)
- Run line (RL)/Against the spread (ATS): Twins -1.5 (+154) | Cardinals +1.5 (-190)
- Over/Under (O/U): 7.5 (O: -105 | U: -115)
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Twins at Cardinals picks and predictions
Prediction
Twins 4, Cardinals 3
Moneyline
The Twins played .563 ball in the first half last season. They may struggle to get to that level in the coming months, but the price here on Minnesota with Lopez pitching is solid.
Reports earlier in the week pegged Gray as struggling with flu-like symptoms, so his impact could be limited. No club scored fewer spring-training runs than St. Louis.
BET THE TWINS (-115).
Run line/Against the spread
PASS: No interest.
Over/Under
The last 4 Twins-Cards games have seen the Under go 3-1.
The probables in this one have excellent match-up numbers. Both prospective starters logged solid indicators last season, and their respective ERAs were a bit over-inflated from an analytics perspective.
Mix in fresh bullpens, and the UNDER 7.5 (-115) is the value side here.
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