[gambcom-standard rankid=”3011″ ]
The Minnesota Twins (70-65) and Texas Rangers (75-59) play the 2nd game of a 3-game series at Globe Life Field Saturday (FOX). First pitch is slated for 7:15 p.m. ET. Let’s analyze BetMGM Sportsbook’s lines around the Twins vs. Rangers odds and make our expert MLB picks and predictions for the best bets.
Season series: Twins lead 4-1
The Twins kicked off a 6-game road trip with a 5-1 win in the series opener Friday behind home runs from 2B Jorge Polanco, C Christian Vazquez, and OF Jordan Luplow. Minnesota is 15-9 against the AL West this season.
Texas began a 9-game homestand Friday with the 11th loss in its last 14 games. The Rangers are allowing nearly 5.4 runs per game over that stretch. Texas is 42-25 at Globe Life Field.
Twins at Rangers projected starters
LHP Dallas Keuchel vs. LHP Jordan Montgomery
Keuchel (1-1, 3.50 ERA) will make his 4th start and 5th appearance. He has a 1.44 WHIP, 3 BB/9 and 3 K/9 in 18 innings.
- Last start: Win, 6 1/3 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 0 BB, 3 K in 2-0 home victory vs. Pittsburgh Pirates on August 20
- Last appearance: No-decision, 5 IP, 0 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 3 K in relief in a 7-6 home win vs. Rangers Sunday
- Last start vs. Rangers: No-decision, 6 IP, 0 ER, 7 H, 0 BB, 2 K in 2-1 road victory on April 24, 2021 as a member of the Chicago White Sox
Montgomery (8-10, 3.19 ERA) will make his 27th start. He has a 1.20 WHIP, 2.4 BB/9 and 8.2 K/9 in 152 1/3 innings for the Rangers and St. Louis Cardinals.
- Last start: No-decision, 5 1/3 IP, 3 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 4 K in 8-7 road loss vs. Twins Sunday
- 2023 home stats: 6-4, 3.30 ERA (76 1/3 IP, 28 ER), .261 OBA in 13 starts
Play our free daily Pick’em Challenge and win! Play now!
Twins at Rangers odds
Provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 9 a.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): Twins +165 (bet $100 to win $165) | Rangers -200 (bet $200 to win $100)
- Run line (RL)/Against the spread (ATS): Twins +1.5 (-120) | Rangers -1.5 (+100)
- Over/Under (O/U): 9 (O: +100 | U: -120)
[gambcom-standard rankid=”3012″ ]
Twins at Rangers picks and predictions
Prediction
Rangers 7, Twins 3
Moneyline
PASS.
I like the Rangers (-200) to win this game but not enough to bet 2 units to win back 1. I’ll look toward the run line in this game.
Run line/Against the spread
BET RANGERS -1.5 (+100).
The Rangers are the better team and I feel like they get back on track in this one. They are a great home team despite their recent struggles. Texas is the only team in MLB that scores over 6 runs per game at home and is 24-13 against left-handed pitchers.
Kuechel got destroyed in his only road start since returning to the bigs from AAA. He only lasted 1 1/3 innings against the Philadelphia Phillies on Aug. 11th, allowing 6 earned runs.
Over/Under
PASS.
While I am confident that Texas will win this game, I don’t have a good feeling either way on the total. There is some slight lean to the Over because of the Rangers’ history at home this season, but not enough to warrant any action.
[gambcom-standard rankid=”5″ ]
For more sports betting picks and tips, check out SportsbookWire.com and BetFTW.
Follow @DrewPhelps05 on Twitter. Follow SportsbookWire on Twitter and like us on Facebook.
Additional MLB coverage:
BaseballHQ Fantasy Baseball
[lawrence-newsletter]
[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1372]